WASHINGTON -- The backlash has begun.
Only a year after President Bush signed a law requiring states to give yearly tests in reading and math for all students in grades 3-8, Washington is hearing cries for relief.

In Montana, Republican Gov. Judy Martz told Congress that the state can't meet the requirements without some flexibility.

In Alaska, the State Board of Education passed a resolution asking for help after discovering "compliance difficulties."

And in Nebraska, a showdown is brewing, with officials warning that the plan will overload public schools.

On Capitol Hill, four senators are promoting a bill that would allow states and school districts to get waivers from the requirements.

In order to get the waivers, they states and districts would have to demonstrate academic progress on their own. It's called the Student Flexibility Act of 2003.

The Republican-controlled Congress usually regards school flexibility as a good thing. But Congress is unlikely to budge on the new tests, which are scheduled to be fully in place by 2005.

"I fundamentally believe that parents have a right to know whether their kids are learning," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who opposes efforts to let states opt out. "We have, for too long, let kids go through a system without regard to whether they're learning."

The education law, called No Child Left Behind, aims to use tests to put a spotlight on student performance. The new tests are the heart of Bush's education platform and are designed to put pressure on schools to improve.

The Bush administration is opposing the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., and Vermont's senators, Democrat Pat Leahy and Jim Jeffords, an independent.

Education Secretary Rod Paige opposed a similar bill last year and has not changed his position, his spokeswoman said.

"He would not be inclined to support any legislation that in any way would water down the strong accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind law," said Susan Aspey, deputy press secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.