Utah opposition to NCLB

["Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>]

Sorry if you got this already - I saw it just now and do not see it on lists. States are mobilizing:
    - hearing in Maine legislature today
    - VA resolution
    - Ohio legislature moving
    - and this from Utah
and no doubt more that escapes me off the top.

I will reiterate FairTest's pleasure in seeing opposition to this disastrous law - but concern that it could lead to an affirmation that states can continue to ignore the needs of low-income children and others in populations whom states have typically never seen fit to educate well (not that economically better-off kids get what I would view as a good education....)

Monty
http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Jan/01302004/utah/133940.asp
> FRIDAY January 30, 2004
> 
>      Panel votes to leave ed plan behind
> 
>      By Ronnie Lynn
>      The Salt Lake Tribune
> 
>          In a bold step toward a declaration of war against President Bush's
>      education reforms, legislators advanced a bill Thursday that turns Utah's
>      back on No Child Left Behind and the $103 million-plus it brings to
> the state's
>      revenue-starved schools.
>          The House Education Committee unanimously forwarded House Bill
> 43 to
>      the floor, a move that has national implications and the potential
> to devastate
>      more than 200 Utah schools that rely on federal dollars to improve
>      achievement among disadvantaged students.
>          Rep. Margaret Dayton said her bill sends Washington an unmistakable
>      message that it is overstepping its bounds in a domain historically
> left to
>      states. "This really is a states' rights issue," the Orem
> Republican said. "Our
>      neighborhood schools should not be held accountable to the federal
>      government."
>          While most committee members agreed -- in principle -- several
> said they
>      couldn't vote for the measure on the House floor if it meant
> sacrificing federal
>      money.
>          "We need to get a lot of answers before we make an unequivocal
> break from
>      [No Child Left Behind]," said Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay.
> "There is a
>      lot of money at stake."
>          Utah's defiance could be costly, prompting Gov. Olene Walker
> and some
>      school officials to question the wisdom of HB43.
>          Walker stopped short of saying she would veto it. While acknowledging
>      that she, too, resented the federal intrusion, the governor said
> she would be
>      hard pressed to justify sacrificing $103 million when Utah spends
> less per
>      pupil than any other state.
>          "We cannot afford to lose that amount of money in our public education
>      system," she said Thursday during her monthly KUED news conference. "But
>      I am willing to work with [federal officials] to make certain that
> the [federal]
>      requirements are something that the state of Utah can live with,
> and we will
>      do everything we can to see that that happens."
>          No Child Left Behind requires public schools to show annual test-score
>      gains among all demographic groups. It imposes sanctions on high-poverty
>      schools that fail to meet their targets. This year, 80 such schools
> were among
>      the 246 schools statewide that missed the federal standards.
>          Salt Lake City school officials say Washington's strings,
> though a nuisance,
>      are worth the $8 million they get in federal money to provide low-income
>      children with before- and after-school programs, smaller class
> sizes and
>      summer sessions, among other services.
>          Giving up that money could mean leaving those 8,574 children
> behind --
>      unless the state plugged the funding hole -- and letting the federal
>      government spend Utah taxpayer money as it pleases, Superintendent McKell
>      Withers said.
>          "I don't understand the conditions that would lead us to decide
> not only are
>      we going to spend the least per student, but that we're also going
> to send $103
>      million to other states," he said.
>          State officials fear that total could grow even higher if the federal
>      government also yanked funds for special education and subsidized lunches
>      for low-income children.
>          San Juan School District draws a third of its $34.7 million
> from federal
>      sources. That chunk would be jeopardized, and with it, the teachers,
>      programs and services that have boosted student achievement in
>      southeastern Utah, said Tim Taylor, the district's director of elementary
>      schools.
>          "We are seeing success," he said from his Blanding office.
> "Over the last
>      three years, we have had a 12 percent gap reduction in the
> achievement level
>      between Anglo students and students of color. We are very proud of
> that. I'm
>      not sure we could function without that money,"
>          Even so, some administrators at the state Office of Education
> endorsed the
>      bill -- if only to negotiate more wiggle room in meeting the
> stricter federal
>      standards. Indeed, Associate Superintendent Patti Harrington sat alongside
>      Dayton as she pitched the legislation to the House committee.
>          "This bill is a good thing," Harrington said. "We need to get
> the attention of
>      the federal government on the problems inherent in No Child Left Behind.
>      Can we do without the money? No. We must have the money."
>          Asked if Dayton's bill is a risky gamble, she said, "I would be
> very surprised
>      if this [Bush] administration would want to have the publicity of pulling
>      funding. My guess is they'll want to reconcile things."
>          The state Board of Education is expected to take a position on
> HB43 today.
>          Federal officials said state lawmakers should not be so quick
> to blame
>      Washington for their qualms with No Child Left Behind. After all,
> the state
>      Office of Education designed the tests, set the passing scores and developed
>      the other measures used to comply with the statute, said Susan
> Aspey, a
>      spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Education.
>          "Certainly, it's disappointing, and we would hope that it
> doesn't happen,"
>      she said of Utah's movement toward opting out of the federal
> program. "That
>      said, No Child Left Behind is about all students being able to read
> and do
>      math on grade level. States are free to determine how they meet
> that goal."
>          Aspey and others questioned the validity of HB43's fiscal note, which
>      asserts the state could incur more than $1 billion in costs
> associated with
>      implementing No Child Left Behind.
>          "I'm at a loss to explain how they could have arrived at these
> figures, which
>      are ridiculously high and almost defy common sense," Aspey said.
> "It would
>      appear that these computations are based on faulty methods and a
> clear lack
>      of knowledge about the law."
>          The state's fiscal analyst derived the potential price tag from
> a Jordan
>      School District analysis that projected implementation costs of
> $182 million
>      for Utah's largest district. The tab includes $15 million for
> teacher raises, $28
>      million for training aides and $8 million for full-day
> kindergarten. None of
>      those is mandated in No Child Left Behind.
>          Still, committee members said Utahns should be the ones
> deciding how to
>      hold schools accountable
>          "This is the 'Federal Education Blackmail Act,' and I'm
> somewhat incensed
>      by it," said Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem. "We have to stand up and
> demand we
>      won't be blackmailed. . . . I for one am ready to send a message
> that we in
>      Utah will not stand for it."
>          States across the nation are watching to see how Utah proceeds,
> said Scott
>      Young, a policy associate for the National Conference of State Legislatures'
>      education program.
>          "Other state legislatures and policy-makers are looking to see what
>      happens," Young said. "By and large, Utah has been on the forefront
> of this
>      issue and this is considered to be one of the stronger actions of a
> state."
>          Earlier this week, the Virginia House passed a resolution
> urging the federal
>      government to allow the state to use its own accountability system
> instead of
>      No Child Left Behind. Washington state is expected to consider a similar
>      measure.
>          Lawmakers in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have contemplated
>      bills to prohibit spending state money on costs associated with implementing
>      No Child Left Behind. Last year, the Hawaii House passed a resolution
>      discouraging the state schools superintendent from complying with the
>      federal law.
>          rlynn@sltrib.com
>          -----
>          Tribune reporter Kirsten Stewart contributed to this story.
> 
>         High cost of No Child Left Behind
>         The Jordan School District estimates it will cost more than $180
> million to
>      implement the federal No Child Left Behind program. Here are line-item
>      budget estimates, which federal officials say are inflated:
> 
>          BUDGET ITEM COST
>          More experienced teachers $7.3m
>          Increasing pay (to compete for teachers) $15.5m
>          Replacing underqualified aides $28.4m
>          Signing bonuses for new teachers $1.5m
>          Class-size reduction (to 18 per teacher) $31.5m
>          Teacher advancement incentives $5.0m
>          Remediation (to help underachieving students) $41.8m
>          Other costs* $51.0m
> 
>          TOTAL REVENUE NEEDED $182m
> 
>          Projected No Child Left Behind funding $4.9m
> 
>         * Includes training, mentoring, scholarships, technology, other
> incentives.
>         Source: Jordan School District The Salt Lake Tribune
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> Lake Tribune
Monty Neill, Ed.D.
Executive Director
FairTest
342 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-864-4810    fax 617-497-2224
monty@fairtest.org
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