Leaving it behind

Utah decides to dump No Child Left Behind:

Snubbing President Bush's education changes, the Utah Legislature on Tuesday passed a measure giving state education standards priority over federal ones imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has said the state bill could cost Utah $76 million in federal funding. But Utah officials bristle at the federal act's requirements, arguing they amount to unfunded mandates.

The bill is seen by many as the strongest objection to the federal law among 15 states considering anti-No Child Left Behind legislation this year.

No word on if Texas is one of those states.

*UPDATE* Well I'll be:

The nation's largest teachers union and school districts in Texas and two other states launched a legal fight over No Child Left Behind today, aiming to free schools from complying with any part of the education law not paid for by the federal government.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for eastern Michigan, is the most sweeping challenge to President Bush's signature education policy. The outcome would apply only to the districts involved but could have implications for all schools nationwide.

Leading the fight is the National Education Association, a union of 2.7 million members that represents many public educators and is financing the lawsuit. The other plaintiffs are the Laredo Independent School District in Laredo, Texas, eight school districts in Michigan and Vermont, plus 10 NEA chapters in those three states and Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah.