H.J.R. 3 Enrolled

RESOLUTION REGARDING FEDERAL NO
CHILD LEFT BEHIND
2005 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Kory M. Holdaway
Senate Sponsor: Thomas V. Hatch
Duane E. Bourdeaux
Craig W. Buttars
LaVar Christensen
Margaret DaytonJohn Dougall
James R. Gowans
David L. Hogue
Gregory H. HughesBradley T. Johnson
Carol Spackman Moss
Merlynn T. Newbold
LaWanna Lou Shurtliff
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This resolution recognizes Utah's commitment to competency-measured education and
the state's leadership role in providing quality education for its citizens.
Highlighted Provisions:
This resolution:
. recognizes that the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students (U-PASS)
should be the basis for assessing and monitoring Utah's students and schools;
. recognizes that in order to increase student achievement, Utah should utilize
competency-measured education and student growth measurements as described in
U-PASS and Utah State Senate Bill 154, 2003 General Session;
. recognizes that the state should control its public education budget and allocate
money according to Utah's priorities and needs, driven by decision-making of local
school boards; and
. recognizes that until certain federal actions are taken, Utah should utilize its own
proven system of student accountability and reassert its historic leadership role in
providing a quality public education for the citizens of Utah.
Special Clauses:
None

Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
WHEREAS, the state of Utah applauds the laudable goals proposed by the President and
the United States Congress and articulated in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, those goals
being to close the achievement gap and increase student performance;
WHEREAS, these are the same goals the state of Utah has pursued and continues to
pursue under the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students (U-PASS), which accounts
for individual student growth and the differences among our children;
WHEREAS, the stakeholders in public education in the state of Utah are more
experienced and have a better understanding of the unique needs of Utah students, evident by the
fact that the state has performed above the national average on the National Assessment of
Educational Progress while maintaining the lowest per pupil expenditures in the nation;
WHEREAS, No Child Left Behind greatly expands the reach of the federal government
into the education governance structure in Utah, bypassing critical stakeholders in the
policymaking process and dealing directly with individual schools and districts, negating state
and local board control and undermining the state's ability to meet its constitutional duty to
provide a system of public education in Utah;
WHEREAS, prior to No Child Left Behind, the federal government's involvement in
education in the state was focused primarily on a small percentage of students, commensurate
with the 7% contribution to the state's aggregate spending on K-12 education;
WHEREAS, No Child Left Behind greatly expands the authority of the U.S. Department
of Education by impacting all students in the state, without a significant increase in its 7%
contribution to the state, making the U.S. Department of Education's mandates on public
education no longer commensurate with the resources it provides to Utah;
WHEREAS, federal funding for No Child Left Behind falls dramatically short of
sufficient funds for remedial services for struggling students, and No Child Left Behind therefore
requires substantial supplemental state funding;
WHEREAS, No Child Left Behind represents the greatest federal intrusion in the history

of our nation, over what has historically been a right of the states, to direct public education in a
way that best fits the needs of individual students;
WHEREAS, while No Child Left Behind was appropriately intended, it was nonetheless
poorly designed, in that it is too punitive, too prescriptive, and sets unrealistic expectations that
demoralize students and educators and confuse the general public;
WHEREAS, No Child Left Behind contains fundamental conflicts between competing
federal education laws that govern the treatment of students with special needs, as well as
between federal law and state statutory and constitutional requirements, and is built on
inadequate methods for measuring student and school performance;
WHEREAS, No Child Left Behind may cause unintended consequences to Utah's
education system in that it will redirect the allocation of resources, amend state and local
curriculum, standards, and assessments, and do more damage in labeling Utah' s schools and
students than it does to improve student performance, making it a less effective method for Utah
to measure student achievement;
WHEREAS, No Child Left Behind includes expectations for teacher qualifications that
ignore realities in rural settings and in specialty assignments; and
WHEREAS, while No Child Left Behind includes provisions, such as Sections 9401 and
9527, that would protect states and provide regulatory relief from concerns raised about its
shortcomings, there has been very little effort by the U.S. Department of Education to encourage
or allow states to utilize these provisions:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
recognizes that the Legislature, the Utah State Board of Education, and local boards of education
have an understanding of Utah's schools that surpasses that of federal government entities in
terms of missions, needs, goals, and values of those schools.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature recognizes that the U-PASS should
be the basis by which students and schools in Utah will be assessed and monitored.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature recognizes that in order to increase
student achievement, Utah should utilize competency-measured education and student growth

measurements as described in U-PASS and Utah State Senate Bill 154, 2003 General Session.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature recognizes that the state should
control its public education budget and allocate education dollars according to Utah's priorities
and needs, driven by decision-making of local school boards.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature recognizes that until and unless the
federal government substantially amends No Child Left Behind, extends waiver authority under
Section 9401 to acknowledge that Utah is complying with the intent and spirit of the law through
U-PASS, and that the federal government provides funding commensurate with what an
independent analysis of implementation costs indicates is required to fully implement the law or
the Congress significantly alters the law such that control of public education is fully restored to
our state, Utah should utilize its own proven system of student accountability and reassert its
historic leadership role in providing a quality public education for its citizens.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Utah State
Board of Education, each of Utah's local boards of education, the United States Department of
Education, and to the members of Utah's congressional delegation.