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Second Substitute H.B. 144

Representative Tammy J. Rowan proposes to substitute the following bill:


             1     
TASK FORCE ON LEARNING STANDARDS AND

             2     
ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION

             3     
1999 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Sponsor: Tammy J. Rowan

             6      AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; CREATING A TASK FORCE ON
             7      LEARNING STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION;
             8      PROVIDING FOR MEMBERSHIP; PROVIDING FOR STAFF; PROVIDING DUTIES;
             9      PROVIDING A REPORTING DATE; APPROPRIATING h [ $39,500 ] $64,500 h FROM THE
             9a      GENERAL
             10      FUND; AND PROVIDING A REPEAL DATE.
             11      This act enacts uncodified material.
             12      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             13          Section 1. Task Force on Learning Standards and Accountability in Public Education
             14      -- Membership -- Compensation -- Staff.
             15          (1) There is created the Task Force on Learning Standards and Accountability in Public
             16      Education consisting of the following 13 members:
             17          (a) three members of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate, no more than
             18      two of whom may be from the same political party;
             19          (b) five members of the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House
             20      of Representatives, no more than three of whom may be from the same political party;
             21          (c) the governor or the governor's designee;
             22          (d) two members from the State Board of Education, appointed by the board; and
             23          (e) two local board of education members from an urban and rural school district
             24      appointed by the Utah School Boards Association.
             25          (2) (a) The president of the Senate shall designate a member of the Senate appointed under


             26      Subsection (1)(a) as a cochair of the task force.
             27          (b) The speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate a member of the House
             28      of Representatives appointed under Subsection (1)(b) as a cochair of the task force.
             29          (3) In conducting its business, the task force shall comply with the rules of Legislative
             30      interim committees.
             31          (4) (a) Legislators on the task force shall receive compensation and expenses in accordance
             32      with Section 36-2-2 and Legislative Joint Rule 15.03.
             33          (b) Members who are not government employees receive no compensation or benefits for
             34      their service, but may receive per diem and expenses incurred in the performance of the members'
             35      official duties at the rates established by the Division of Finance under Sections 63A-3-106 and
             36      63A-3-107 .
             37          (c) Members may decline to receive per diem and expenses for their services.
             38          (5) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall provide staff support to
             39      the task force.
             40          Section 2. Task force duties -- Interim report.
             41          (1) The task force shall notify and seek input from the State Board of Education, the Utah
             42      School Boards Association, the Utah School Superintendents Association, the Utah Parents and
             43      Teachers Association, the Utah Education Association, the Utah Public Education Coalition, the
             44      state's colleges of education, and other members of the state's public education community,
             45      including teachers, students, and parents of students on the following issues:
             46          (a) student performance standards and accountability programs that have been
             47      implemented and proven to be successful in raising the level of student performance;
             48          (b) measurable objectives regarding student performance that have been or could be
             49      validated;
             50          (c) adoption by the state of a proven education system that has successfully incorporated
             51      standards, testing, and local autonomy to raise student achievement; and
             52          (d) development of a series of recommendations for consideration by the Legislature, the
             53      State Board of Education, and local school boards focused on enhancing student achievement at
             54      each school in the state's public education system to include:
             55          (i) adopting measurable state learning standards and, where appropriate, national learning
             56      standards that describe the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn at each grade level;


             57          (ii) implementing assessment methods or procedures closely aligned with the state learning
             58      standards to enable the schools, the state, and the public to know whether students are learning the
             59      skills they need to succeed in each grade;
             60          (iii) recognizing and rewarding schools that meet or exceed the established standards,
             61      which could also include ratings for schools; and
             62          (iv) providing for a mechanism that aids schools not meeting the established standards.
             63          (2) (a) The task force shall issue at least two reports on its activities to the Legislature's
             64      Education Interim Committee and the State Board of Education.
             65          (b) The task force shall issue its first report no later than November 30, 1999,
             66      recommending what action the Legislature and the State Board of Education need to take in order
             67      to have an effective statewide standards and accountability program for public education
             68      functioning by July 1, 2000.
             69          (c) The task force shall issue its final report no later than November 30, 2000, with a focus
             70      on the extent to which the standards and accountability program has been implemented at the
             71      district, school, and classroom level.
             72          Section 3. Appropriation.
             73          Except as provided in H.B. 4, Appropriations Coordination Act, there is appropriated from
             74      the General Fund for fiscal year 1998-99:
             75          (1) $5,500 to the Senate to pay for the compensation and expenses of senators on the task
             76      force;
             77          (2) $9,000 to the House of Representatives to pay for the compensation and expenses of
             78      representatives on the task force; and
             79          (3) h [ $25,000 ] $50,000 h to the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to pay
             79a      for staffing
             80      the task force.
             81          Section 4. Repeal date.
             82          This act is repealed November 30, 2000.


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