With the signing of the Implementing Federal Educational Programs bill, Gov. Jon Huntsman and the state legislature told federal education officials Monday that Utah is taking control of its public schools.

Dressed in cowboy boots and a jean jacket, having recently assessed flood damages in Utah County, Huntsman said, “At the end of the day, we’re going to always do what’s right for our students, that which is right for our teachers, and ultimately our families.”

Huntsman brought up from the audience a special somebody who would actually be impacted by the bill to participate in the signing with him. A student from Amelia Earhart Elementary School, in Provo, Hayley Alder stood with Huntsman and wrote the date on the bill next to his signature.

Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, said the emphasis needs to be on the students, parents and teachers, and does not need to be starting with the federal government.

“It’s a bottom up driven model,” Holdaway said.

Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Provo, the bill sponsor, said putting accountability in the state’s control emphasized “the importance of not overlooking the genius of our kids.”

The state constitution includes nearly 125 pages on how Utah will take care of public education. The additional federal guidelines are suffocating to the state’s system, Dayton said.

Utah state legislators said the federal government does not understand the unique demographics of Utah students. The responsibility of educating the children in the state should therefore be left up to the state educators.

The educational bill allows for Utah educators to abide by the basic benchmarks of federal guidelines, but puts the final word in their control. State educators now have the authority to hold Utah schools accountable under state regulations, Dayton said.

State Office of Education Superintendent Patti Harrington said her biggest opposition to the federal guidelines is that the guidelines are overbearing.

Harrington said No Child Left Behind also has “no distinguishing features between a school that’s really in trouble … and a school like [Amelia Earhart Elementary School] that missed only 1 of 48 indicators and was called a failing school.”

Signing this bill makes Utah the first of 15 states to oppose President Bush’s No Child Left Behind and to enact legislation against it.

Officials from other states have been looking to Utah as an example both of what the state should do and what the federal government will do in return.

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has warned Utah against opposing the federal legislation because it could cost the state as much as $76 million in federal funding.

Tim Bridgewater, deputy of Utah public education, has been leading the federal negotiations. Referring to Dayton and Spellings, he said he has been “caught between two Margarets oftentimes in trying to figure out what was best.”

Bridgewater said Utah does need more money from the federal government in order to fully implement their plans for a state-run educational program.

Bridgewater will continue negotiations with the federal government so Utah educators can maintain control of their schools.

“Education starts right here at the grass roots” he said.
Copyright Brigham Young University 3 May 2005