Monday
Sep142009
Utah & Feds Just Can't Get Along
Justin Bathon on Monday, September 14, 2009 at 11:58AM One of the reasons I really like Utah is its open defiance of the federal government on some issues. Today, for instance, the Department of Education slapped a penalty on Utah's Office of Education for failing to use the right test in a couple districts. Not a huge deal, but indicative of the frequently contentious nature of the relationship. Just like a classroom, with 50 states you know one of them is going to act out from time to time. Who knew it would be such a conservative, religious and normally quiet state.
h/t - @markkerr
Reader Comments (4)
Mostly conservative? Yes. Mostly religious? Yes. Normally quiet? Not so much, at least not from the inside. It is an interesting development, though. That said, I hope things are going well for you.
Glad to see you reading the blog Karen!
I guess you are right. It has a quiet perception nationally, but educationally it is certainly a mover-and-shaker. I'll have to reorient my stereotypes! Sorry.
Hope you are doing well also. I guess we'll see each other in a couple months at UCEA! Looking forward to it.
I've got you on my Google Reader so I keep pretty up to date. I'll definitely see you at UCEA. It feels like it's right around the corner.
I'm sure that residents of Utah are aware of this, but the state came a hare's breath away from completely rejecting federal funds under NCLB due to the obvious overreaching in the law as to testing, among other things. I think they even got to a state-wide vote or a final debate in their legislature on the issue.
Understanding the obvious PR disaster that would have presented (the most overwhelmingly pro-Bush state in the Union rejecting his signature domestic program), an official in the Bush Administration (I believe it was Margaret Spellings, but my memory is foggy) actually had to travel to the state specifically to convince the state leaders not to reject the funds, and the state officials reluctantly agreed. I'm told that they relented solely out of a desire not to embarrass the President, but I'm not sure if that's true.
Anyway, from a federalism perspective, Utah was way out in front of even the states that ultimately sued the Administration over the law. I was rooting for them and was disappointed when they backed down.