States' rights...

Here is a positively great story from Utah, where the State legislature has recently voted to ignore various provisions of President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" program.

As has been previously criticized here, the NCLB program clearly violates the principles of Federalism, limited central government, and the clear language of the 9th and 10th amendments to the US Constitution.

According to this Fox News story:

• Thumbing its nose at President Bush's No Child Left Behind education law, Utah this week enacted legislation to give its own state education standards priority over federal rules.

  "This clearly is a signal that local leadership, local decision-making are extremely important when it comes to education policy," said Utah's Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman.

  Utah is one of 16 states challenging or considering challenges to NCLB. Many state officials say they think the law is too rigid in measuring student proficiency and often conflicts with how states track their own progress.

William Schneider in The Atlantic Online has this to say:

• A grassroots rebellion is under way against one of President Bush's signature legislative achievements. And it's starting, of all places, in Utah—Bush's most supportive state in last year's election. "Our duty is to stop the federal encroachment that's been taking place for the last 40 or 50 years," state Rep. David Cox, a Republican, told a local television reporter.