NYT: Education Law Finds Few Fans in Utah (NCLB)

[DeepModem Mom]

Education Law Finds Few Fans in Utah
By SAM DILLON

Published: March 6, 2005


SALT LAKE CITY, March 4 - Utah was poised to deliver a rebuke to President Bush's No Child Left Behind law this week when the state's Republican governor stepped off the plane after a visit to Washington.

Republican state senators in this conservative state admire Mr. Bush. But many of them hate No Child Left Behind, his centerpiece school reform law, and they were ready to pass a bill challenging it.

But on arrival back in Utah, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who had met with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings at the White House, still had hopes he might win concessions, softening the federal law's footprint here.

The Senate agreed to wait - at least until next month when a special legislative session is scheduled.

Education officials nationwide are watching the events here to see whether this state will win in its game of brinkmanship with federal officials. Mr. Bush's 670-page law, signed in 2002, expands standardized testing and punishes schools where even small groups of students fail to make sufficient progress. But many states have challenged its enforcement....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/national/06Utah.html