Traditionally at odds with one another, the organizations urged the House Education Committee to advance a bill and a resolution that stand firm against Washington mandates. Utah officials believe those mandates encroach on state education priorities.

"[The legislation] makes the statement that we believe the federal government has overstepped its authority," said UEA President Pat Rusk. "It says we believe in each other and trust in each other to educate our children."

The committee didn't need much convincing, unanimously forwarding House Joint Resolution 3 and House Bill 135 to the floor.

Both measures target No Child Left Behind (NCLB), President Bush's 2001 education-reform plan, which requires public schools to demonstrate annual test-score gains for all racial and demographic groups.

High-poverty schools that fail to make enough progress for two consecutive years must pay transportation costs for students who transfer to higher-performing schools.

Legislators and state educators believe the law costs too much to implement, oversteps federal authority and makes schools accountable to the federal government instead of local communities.

"It's really a question of who has the responsibility under the law to provide for education for our citizenry," said sponsoring Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville.

rlynn@sltrib.com