02/03/04 -- Recent action in several states underscores a growing backlash against the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).
The Virginia House of Delegates passed a resolution by a vote of 98-1 Jan. 23 urging Congress to exempt states like Virginia -- that already have tough education accountability systems in place -- from the requirements of the federal law.
Virginia's Republican-controlled House says NCLB "represents the most sweeping intrusion into state and local control of education in the history of the United States." It says the law is an unfunded mandate that will cost "literally millions of dollars that Virginia does not have."
House Education Committee Chair James H. Dillard II told the Washington Post "the damn law is ludicrous."
The Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) has not taken a formal position on the resolution, but "welcomes the legislators' concerns for potential costs related to implementation of certain aspects of NCLB," says Executive Director Frank Barham. "This is especially true given the unsteady state of the economy nationally and here in the commonwealth."
An independent research arm of the legislature already has documented a more than $1 billion shortfall in funding Virginia's own Standards of Quality (SOQ) accountability system, plus another half a billion dollars to fund certain "re-benchmarked" requirements of the SOQ, Barham says, and that doesn't count inflation.
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association's executive board voted unanimously to conduct a review of whether the organization should file a legal challenge that would seek to overturn portions of NCLB that "undermine public education."
According to PSBA Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel, "NCLB creates requirements that are unrealistic in their scope, cost, and time frames for implementation."
The review would look at provisions of NCLB "that are inconsistent with state and federal law, unduly restrict the options of local school boards, create unfunded or underfunded mandates, or threaten the quality of public education in the commonwealth."
The state of Ohio commissioned a study released in December that found the federal government significantly underfunded NCLB.
North Dakota's House and Senate passed a resolution stating that the state's cost to implement NCLB "is as yet unclear." Vermont, Indiana, and Utah also passed measures in 2003 calling for studies on the cost of implementing NCLB.
In Utah, lawmakers are considering legislation to opt out of NCLB entirely, which would mean giving up Title I funds.
"I think we need to do this to send a message," Republican Rep. David Cox (R) told the Deseret News Jan. 20. Cox opposes federal government intrusion into public education,
And in Montana, the state's Republican governor, Judy Martz, sent a letter to the U.S. Education Department stating that NCLB is creating hardships for rural schools.