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MINUTES OF HOUSE EDUCATION
STANDING COMMITTEE
February 8, 2008
Room 445, Capitol Building, State Capitol Complex


MEMBERS PRESENT:    Rep. Gregory H. Hughes, Chair
        Rep. Patrick Painter, Vice Chair
        Rep. Sylvia S. Andersen        
        Rep. Craig A. Frank
        Rep. James R. Gowans
        Rep. Kory M. Holdaway
        Rep. Bradley G. Last
        Rep. Rebecca D. Lockhart        
        Rep. Carol Spackman Moss
        Rep. Merlynn T. Newbold
        Rep. LaWanna "Lou" Shurtliff
        Rep. Kenneth W. Sumsion    
        Rep. Stephen Urquhart
        Rep. Mark A. Wheatley

MEMBERS ABSENT:    Rep. Brad Dee    
            
STAFF PRESENT:    Constance C. Steffen, Policy Analyst
        Linda Service, Committee Secretary
        Dee S Larsen, Associate General Counsel

Note: List of visitors and copy of handouts are filed with committee minutes.

Rep. Painter, Vice Chair, called the meeting to order at 8:13 a.m.

MOTION:    Rep. Shurtliff moved to adopt the minutes of February 5, 2008. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Anderson, Rep. Last, Rep. Moss, Rep. Urquhart, and Rep. Hughes were absent for the vote.

1st Sub. H.B. 127    Community Council Elections (Rep. K. Sumsion)

MOTION:    Rep. Sumsion moved to delete in title and body 1st Substitute H.B. 127 and adopt 2nd Substitute H.B. 127. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Anderson, Rep. Last, Rep. Moss, and Rep. Urquhart were absent for the vote.

Rep. Sumsion introduced the bill which amends provisions for the election of school community councils.


The following spoke in support of the bill:
    Stan Harbuck, businessman and parent
    Natalie Gordon, Utah PTA

MOTION:    Rep. Shurtliff moved to pass the bill out with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Last, Rep. Moss, and Rep. Urquhart were absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Frank moved to place the bill on the Consent Calendar. The motion failed with Rep. Holdaway and Rep. Shurtliff voting in opposition. Rep. Last, Rep. Moss, and Rep. Urquhart were absent for the vote.

H.B. 254    School Community Council Amendments (Rep. R. Menlove)

MOTION:    Rep. Newbold moved to delete in title and body H.B. 254 and adopt 1st Substitute H.B. 254. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Last, Rep. Moss, and Rep. Urquhart were absent for the vote.

Rep. Menlove introduced the bill which modifies provisions regarding the term of office of school community council members.

Keith Davis, Principal, Grantsville Junior High School, spoke in support of the bill.

MOTION:    Rep. Hughes moved to pass the bill out with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Moss and Rep. Urquhart were absent for the vote.

H.B. 189    School Community Councils (Rep. R. Bigelow)

MOTION:    Rep. Lockhart moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 4, Lines 109 through 117 :    

             109          (7) (a) A school community council shall provide the following information:
             110          (i) the proposed school community council meeting schedule for the year, provided
             111      during the first two weeks of the school year;
             112          (ii) a summary of the school community council's actions and activities during the first
             113      half of the school year information, provided at the mid-point of the school year; and
             114          (iii) a summary of the annual report required under Section 53A-16-101.5 on how the
             115      school's School LAND Trust Program monies were used to enhance or improve academic
             116      excellence at the school and implement a component of the school's improvement plan,

             117      provided at the
{   conclusion   }        beginning       of the        next       school year.

The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Moss and Rep. Urquhart were absent for the vote.

Rep. Bigelow introduced the bill which requires a school community council to provide certain information to school households.

Natalie Gordon, Utah PTA, spoke in support of the concept of the bill.
The following spoke in support of the bill:
    Vic Arnold, Utah Education Association
    Keith Davis, Principal, Grantsville Junior High School
    Stan Harbuck, businessman and parent

Margaret Bird, Trust Lands Specialist, Utah State Board of Education, responded to questions by committee members.

MOTION:    Rep. Holdaway moved to move to the next item on the agenda.

SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Rep. Newbold moved to pass the bill out with a favorable recommendation as amended. The motion passed with Rep. Holdaway and Rep. Moss voting in opposition. Rep. Frank was absent for the vote.

H.B. 330    State Supplemental Funding for Head Start (Rep. L. Shurtliff)

Rep. Shurtliff moved to delete in title and body H.B. 330 and adopt 1st Substitute H.B. 330. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Frank and Rep. Newbold were absent for the vote.

Rep. Shurtliff introduced the bill which establishes state supplemental funding for Head Start programs in Utah.

The following assisted the sponsor:
    Erin Trenbeath-Murray, Head Start Program
    Rebekkah Button, Parent, Head Start Program

The following spoke in support of the bill:
    Sue Carey, Utah PTA
    Nicole Droitsch, Head Start
    Ann Post Fife, Head Start
    Greg Summerhays, United Way Young Leaders
    Kim Campbell, Utah Education Association
    Sarah Meier, Utah School Boards Association

MOTION:    Rep. Moss moved to pass the bill out with a favorable motion. The motion passed with Rep. Sumsion voting in opposition. Rep. Frank and Rep. Newbold were absent for the vote.

H.B. 66    Paraeducator to Teacher Scholarship Program (Rep. R. Menlove)

Rep. Menlove introduced the bill which creates a program to award scholarships to paraeducators for education and training to become a licensed teacher.

The following spoke in support of the bill:
    Nan Gray, Special Education Director, State Board of Education
    Geoff Leonard, Utah State Education Association

MOTION:    Rep. Holdaway moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 4, Lines 91 through 92 :    

             91          (7) A scholarship recipient must be continuously employed
  as a paraeducator       by a school district or

             92      charter school while pursuing a degree using scholarship monies.

The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Frank, Rep. Moss, and Rep. Newbold were absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Urquhart moved to pass the bill out with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Frank, Rep. Moss, and Rep. Newbold were absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Urquhart moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:57 a.m. The motion passed unanimously.









_____________________________
Rep. Gregory H. Hughes, Chair