A public school on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah is closing for failing to meet the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act.
The West Middle School failed to meet testing and attendance standards for seven years.
It's the first school in Utah to close under NCLB, an initiative of President Bush.
About 120 students, who are members of the Northern Ute Tribe, will have to be bussed to mostly white schools about 20 miles away in Vernal. Ramalda Guzman, the chairwoman of the tribe's education board, said the students weren't given a chance to succeed.
"There needs to be equity as far as academic services," Guzman told The Salt Lake Tribune. "We want the same type of education that the students in the Vernal schools are receiving."
Get the Story:Ute reservation school first in state to fall victim to 'No Child Left Behind' standards (The Salt Lake Tribune 12/18)
