Education Interim Committee

handle. Another problem, he said, is the burden of involving employees' time to administer the monthly payment plan that many families are using. His research indicates this is a state-wide problem. Also, he had found that most people qualify to waive school fees, which becomes too burdensome for the school district to subsidize.
     Doug Bates, Law and Legislation Coordinator at the State Office of Education, stated that low-income people are being priced out of education and the curriculum is suffering because of a continuing reliance on school fees. It is important to philosophically examine the purpose of schools in determining how to best fund them.
     Parley Jacobs, Principal at Kearns High School, distributed a copy of school fees sent to each patron prior to the beginning of the school year. He stated there is a demand for schools to be competitive financially. From a practical approach, he asked how the administration helps a student to succeed. To provide a full comprehensive program is a challenge financially for the school as well as the parents. He expressed the difficulty in being placed in the position of the "tax collector" to collect the fee money to make the programs run He encouraged the Legislature to help find ways to lower fees so it becomes more equitable.
    Laurie Chivers, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, distributed and reviewed the five recommendations made by the School Fees Task Force in 1993. She referred to the survey and noted textbook fees range from 0-$50 as schools differ in their fees from one to another. The current task force recommendation is that fees for textbooks be eliminated for the school year 1999 - 2000. The Legislature would provide $50 annually per student, with the understanding that secondary textbook fees would be eliminated. An $11 million on-going appropriation is required to fund the request.
    Mr. Baugh stated that a survey conducted with parents in the state determined that citizens prefer fees to be funded by the Legislature. He stated that the task force is focusing on eliminating textbook fees, but that it would be disastrous to eliminate them without providing another source of funding. He stated that the Legislature should not supplant the funds, and that the districts would not raise fees in other areas. Possible revenue sources for Legislative appropriations have been suggested. Mr. Baugh answered questions from the committee members.
    
     MOTION:    Sen. Steele moved to accept the recommendation that the Legislature support the removal of textbook fees and appropriate the funding necessary to replace that revenue. Also, that those school districts that are not currently charging for textbooks, do not use these funds as a windfall and those that are charging for textbooks would not supplement for some other area.

    SUBSTITUTE MOTION:    Sen. Hillyard moved to direct the task force to report back with information regarding how this legislation would impact each school district as well as a proposal for fairness. The motion passed unanimously with Senator Nielson and Representatives Koehn and Wright absent for the vote.

5.     Professional Development Update
     Phyllis Sorensen, President of the Utah Education Association (UEA), explained that the Professional Development Task Force is working to design a plan for sustained, effective,

professional development for all licensed educators in the state. She reviewed the membership of the task force, the standards of educators' development, and the teacher preparation continuum from a handout presented to the committee. The goal of the task force, she said, is to have a quality teacher in every classroom and to have them be continuous learners. She reviewed the eleven points of criteria for high quality professional development for educators. Those points will be used to draft a plan for the professional development for educators. She requested staff of the Education Interim Committee be available to help draft legislation.
     Steve Laing, Associate Superintendent for Public Instruction, noted two positions adopted by the task force:
    1) the requirement that all levels of educators participate in meaningful professional development as part of the recertification process; and
    2)the State Board of Education adjust its rules to reflect the importance and necessity of having school-wide staff development as a component when a school is considered for accreditation of a public school.

    Rep. Frandsen directed staff to assist the task force in drafting legislation in this area.
            
                                
6.     Educational Technology Initiative (ETI) for Higher Education
        James L. Wilson, Legislative Staff

    This issue was postponed to the June meeting.

7.     School Facilities Extended Use
     Scott Bean, Superintendent of Public Instruction, reported that there are two types of extended use for school facilities, after school and summer programs. The Legislature has appropriated funds for some experimental summer programs, but they are not ongoing. Extended school use is in the experimental stage. He reviewed extending school use for afternoon and evening uses and the fees that can be charged for some uses. He agreed to survey the districts to determine the extent in which schools are being used outside of school time. He noted the benefit of opening up computer labs to students after regular school hours, but stated resources would have to be available to pay for lights, supervision, etc. Liability, he said, is also an issue.
     A representative of the JEDI Women spoke in favor of using schools after school hours for child care of students whose parents are still at work.

8.      MOTION:    Sen. Nielson moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

    The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.