An education rebellion stirring

From Utah to Virginia, a revolt is building in classrooms and legislatures against the biggest education reform in a quarter century. As elements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act take effect, state and local education officials, upset over the stringency of testing requirements and the cost of implementation, are openly criticizing the measure - and even threatening to defy it.

The rebellion, in some cases led by GOP lawmakers, could endanger a signature achievement of the Bush administration in an election year. At the least, it highlights the frequent tensions between policies in Washington and their effects in the classroom.

"I think Bush got maximum benefit for this bill on the day he signed it," says Jack Jennings, director of the Center on Education Policy, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. "Now that we're into the very difficult implementation problems, he's probably going to get tarnished with the backlash."

The revolt has been growing:

• Several districts in Vermont and Connecticut have refused federal funds rather than comply with all No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. A district in Pennsylvania is suing the state over what it sees as inequities in the law.

• At least seven states have passed resolutions criticizing the law or asking for federal waivers on some requirements.

• Maine is considering a bill - similar to one in Vermont - to prevent state funding of reforms.

• In Utah, a bill to opt out of NCLB entirely (and so forgo many federal funds) has passed the house education committee.

On one level, it's not surprising that the chorus of critics is growing louder. NCLB is the most significant education reform in a generation, and it is a morass of complex requirements on everything from who's tested to who can teach. Schools can land on a watch list for something as simple as testing only 94 percent of students - or 94 percent of a subgroup, like non-English speakers. Many districts don't understand what they're trying to implement.

Even the fiercest critics tend to agree with the law's philosophy, particularly its efforts to separate gains for groups like low-income kids, and make schools accountable for progress in each group.

What they don't always agree with is implementation. "Wealthy districts don't have to do much at all under this law," says Gary Orfield, a Harvard education professor. "Other districts face demands that are somewhere between difficult and absurd. It's putting maximum pressure on the most vulnerable districts."

A few states dislike federal intrusion into what's always been a state arena. "There's not anything [Virginia is] going to learn from the fact that we have to give these additional tests," says James Dillard (R), of Virginia's House of Delegates. "If Clinton had done this, Republicans would have been up in arms." He pauses. "Republicans are up in arms."

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