Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The State Board of Education on Thursday approved a joint resolution that asks Utah's congressional delegation to resolve conflicts with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
The board also plans to apply for a three-year flexibility waiver that exempts the state from having to adhere to policies within the No Child Left Behind Act, which would impose "draconian penalties" on noncompliant schools, according to Brad Smith, state superintendent of public instruction.
One such policy would require every student in the state to score proficiently on statewide tests, where fewer than half of students actually did last year.
"We are at an odd time in the enactment of the law in that many of the penalties that might apply simply don't make sense because under the terms of the statute, literally every school in Utah is a failed school," Smith said. "So some of the penalties simply no longer have legal meaning in that context."
Utah was approved last year for a one-year flexibility waiver from the federal education law, but the board plans to submit an application for the three-year flexibility waiver, which is due March 15.
I will seriously consider sponsoring a similar resolution aimed at our congressional delegation to address the (Elementary and) Secondary Education Act. If that means that the Public Education Appropriations Committee needs to follow that up and put our money where our mouth is with additional funding based on potential rejection of the waiver, that's something I'm willing to consider.
–Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy
The joint resolution seeks a unified voice from the board, state legislators and Gov. Gary Herbert in calling on Utah's congressional delegation to not only support but co-sponsor legislation to amend the No Child Left Behind Act so flexibility waivers aren't needed in the future.
Board member Spencer Stokes raised the concern that "strong language" in the resolution would inhibit Utah's ability to obtain flexibility waivers in the future, but Smith said similar language censuring flaws in the law has been used in previous waiver applications, which were approved.
Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, expressed his support for the resolution.
"I will seriously consider sponsoring a similar resolution aimed at our congressional delegation to address the (Elementary and) Secondary Education Act," Eliason said. "If that means that the Public Education Appropriations Committee needs to follow that up and put our money where our mouth is with additional funding based on potential rejection of the waiver, that's something I'm willing to consider."
