Utah Legislature, Week 5

Field trip to the Utah Capitol

Bills on the move:

HB40 Scheduling of Special Elections. This bill amends provisions related to the dates on which a statewide or local special election may be scheduled. The bill was passed with amendments by the Senate on Friday with a vote of 21-0-8. The bill now moves back to the House.

HB389 Parents Rights to Information Regarding Teachers. This bill requires teachers who carry concealed firearms to school to notify the principal of the school; permits a parent to inquire if the teacher of the parent’s child is carrying a concealed firearm; requires a principal to tell a parent who inquires if the teacher of the parent’s child is carrying a concealed firearm; allows a parent to request removal of the parent’s child from a classroom with a teacher carrying a concealed firearm; requires the school to comply with a parent’s request to remove the parent’s child from a classroom with a teacher carrying a concealed firearm; and provides that the information obtained by the parent is confidential. Sponsor Rep. Carol Moss introduced the bill on Friday.

HB58s1 Protection of Athletes with Head Injuries Act Amendments. The Senate passed the bill on Monday with a vote of 27-0-2. It has now been passed by both houses.

HB64 Felons’s Right to Hold Office. This bill: prohibits a felon who is convicted of a sexual offense from holding the office of State Board of Education member or local school board member; and makes conforming and technical changes. The bill passed in the Senate with a vote of 19-5-5. It has now been passed by both houses.

HB134s1 Substitute Parental Notification Related to Student Safety. This bill requires a school to produce and maintain a record that verifies that a parent was notified of certain incidents or threats. The bill was substituted in the House Education Committee and passed with a vote of 12-1 on Monday. The bill went to the House floor Friday and passed with a vote of 66-1. It now moves to the Senate.

HB139s1 Substitute Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Action Center. This bill creates a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Action Center Board; requires the STEM Action Center Board to establish a STEM Action Center. The House passed this bill Thursday with a vote of 68-1-6. The bill was introduce in the Senate Friday.

HB285 Modification of Education-related Reporting Requirements. This eliminates an annual report to the Education Interim Committee on teacher quality; eliminates an annual report to the Education Interim Committee, the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, and the governor regarding the Engineering and Computer Science Initiative; and eliminates an annual report to the Education Interim Committee on transfers of information technology equipment by state agencies to public schools. The Senate voted on the bill Thursday. It received a vote of 25-0-4. It has now been passed by both houses.

SB39 Parental Responsibility for Sex Education Training. This bill requires the State Board of Education to develop and offer instruction to parents with information on health education and human sexuality. The bill passed the Senate on Wednesday with a vote of 25-0-4. It is now in the House Education Committee.

SB100 Higher Education Scholarship Amendments. This bill, which drew lots of discussion in both houses, passed Thursday in the House. It allows the Board of Regents to assign additional weights to grades earned in International Baccalaureate program courses in determining scholarship eligibility in the Regents’ Scholarship Program; beginning July 1, 2013, changes the requirement for a student receiving a New Century scholarship or an Exemplary Academic Achievement award under the Regents’ Scholarship Program to register for at least 15 credit hours per semester; and maintain a 3.3 GPA; and exempts the Board of Regents from verifying lawful presence of certain scholarship applicants under a certain verification program; and requires an applicant for a New Century or Regents’ scholarship to certify, under penalty of perjury, that the applicant is a United States citizen or lawfully present in the country. It has now been passed by both houses.

SB133 School Performance Report Amendments. After a lengthy discussion on this bill and SB69 Assessment and Reporting of Student Performance, the Senate Education Committee voted 4-3 to pass SB133. SB69 failed with a vote of 2-5. Several education groups including the Utah State Board of Education, Utah Education Association and Utah School Boards Association opposed SB133 and spoke against it during Friday’s committee meeting. SB133 now moves to the Senate floor. This bill would allow the publication of classroom level achievement data.

Visit http://schools.utah.gov/law/Legislative-Session.aspx for the Utah State Office of Education’s legislative tracking sheet.

Related posts: