The U.S. Department of Education is allowing other states to change the way they comply with the No Child Left Behind law, but Utah's requests for similar measures continue to be denied, according to Ray Timothy, associate superintendent of public instruction.

"Utah seems to be the whipping boy for being out front in taking issue with No Child Left Behind," he told members of the Education Interim Committee, Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee and the state Board of Education, during a joint meeting Thursday on Capitol Hill.

Under the NCLB law, parents have the option of pulling their children from elementary schools that fail to show "Annual Yearly Progress" - which demonstrates schools' competence in complying with NCLB - for two consecutive years and enrolling them in schools that meet NCLB standards. If schools fail to show improvements over three years, the school districts are required to pay for tutoring or other supplemental educational services for students in those schools.

Utah wants to reverse those requirements. Many of the state's rural districts do not have other nearby schools, so Utah sought to provide the supplemental education services first, instead of parents taking the option of moving their children to other schools, Timothy said.

“The state of Virginia was allowed to make the switch, but Utah was told 'No.' ”

In addition, Utah also sought to use its own accountability measure - Utah Performance Assessment System for Students (U-PASS) - to count toward NCLB compliance. The federal government also turned down that request.

Many Utahns abhor NCLB, calling it an intrusion on the state's rights.

During the 2005 Legislature, lawmakers passed a measure that directs state education officials to ignore provisions of NCLB that conflict with Utah policy. Orem GOP Rep. Margaret Dayton sponsored the bill, which allows Utah to replace the federal accountability standards with Utah standards.

Failing to comply with federal standards aimed at closing achievement gaps between ethnic minority and Anglo students, Utah stands to lose an estimated $76 million annually in federal funds.

With no progress in sight, officials in the Office of Education have enlisted the state's congressional delegation, led by Rep. Rob Bishop, to help bring an end to the current impasse with U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

Bishop is a big proponent of local control of education, so he is willing to do his part in arranging a meeting between Spellings and Utah Superintendent of Public Instruction Patty Harrington, said Scott Parker, the congressman's chief of staff.

Meeting planned

A meeting between Utah education officials and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings is set for Oct. 25.

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