Many of the nation's governors gathered in Washington, DC for their winter conference called for changes to the No Child Left Behind Act or its regulations, even as the Bush administration continued to defend its level of cooperation with states under the law. Fifty state and territorial governors attended the National Governors Association (NGA) conference, held February 21-24. While the economy, homeland security, and health care dominated much of the meeting, the governors had plenty to say about the federal education law. The NGA will shape its positions on the federal law based in part on discussions from the conference. Governors weren't the only ones in Washington talking about the education law last week. Congressional Democrats who helped craft the No Child Left Behind law--a revised version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, first passed in 1965--met with Secretary Paige on February 24 to voice concerns about how the Bush administration has handled key implementation issues. Pressure seems to be mounting from many quarters for easing some of the law's demands. State lawmakers have expressed their concerns with the federal law in resolutions or bills seeking relief from its mandates. In response to a letter written to him by the Democrats on the same day he met with them, Secretary Paige defended the Department of Education's efforts to implement the law, and described as "unfair" by some of the assertions made in the Democrats' letter. The Secretary's letter did not discuss many of the detailed concerns outlined by the Democrats. While some of the objections touch on issues related to the law's accountability demands, the Democrats appeared to stand by its core accountability requirements. In an interview during the governors' conference, meanwhile, former North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. said that momentum may be building for changing the law. Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii, a Republican, acknowledged that some states were looking to opt out of portions of the law. Federal officials countered last week that the Bush administration is providing enough flexibility and funding for states to follow the law.