First Substitute S.B. 122

This document includes Senate Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Fri, Feb 28, 2014 at 9:41 AM by lpoole. -->

Senator Aaron Osmond proposes the following substitute bill:

1 PARENTAL RIGHTS IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
2 2014 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Aaron Osmond
5 House Sponsor: Rich Cunningham
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill addresses certain rights of a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a public
10 school.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 . specifies certain rights of a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a public
14 school; and
15 . requires a school district, charter school, or the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
16 Blind to annually notify a student's parent or guardian of certain rights.
17 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18 None
19 Other Special Clauses:
20 None
21 Utah Code Sections Affected:
22 ENACTS:
23 53A-11-1501, Utah Code Annotated 1953
24 53A-15-1502, Utah Code Annotated 1953
25 53A-15-1503, Utah Code Annotated 1953

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Senate Committee Amendments 2-28-2014 lp/aos 26

27 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28 Section 1. Section 53A-11-1501 is enacted to read:
29 Part 15. Parental Rights
30 53A-11-1501. Definitions.
31 As used in this part:
32 (1) "LEA" means a school district, charter school, or the Utah Schools for the Deaf and
33 the Blind.
34 (2) "Reasonably accommodate" means an LEA shall make its best effort to allow a
35 parent or guardian to exercise a parental right specified in Section 53A-15-1503 :
36 (a) without substantial impact to staff and resources; and
37 (b) while balancing:
38 (i) the parental rights of parents or guardians; and
39 (ii) the educational needs of S. other .S students.
40 Section 2. Section 53A-15-1502 is enacted to read:
41 53A-15-1502. Annual notice of parental rights.
42 An LEA shall annually notify a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the LEA of
43 the parent's or guardian's rights as specified in this part.
44 Section 3. Section 53A-15-1503 is enacted to read:
45 53A-15-1503. Parental right to academic accommodations.
46 (1) A student's parent or guardian is the primary person responsible for the education of
47 the student, and the state is in a secondary and supportive role to the parent or guardian. As
48 such, a student's parent or guardian has the right to reasonable academic accommodations from
49 the student's LEA as specified in this section.
50 (2) An LEA shall comply with a parent's or guardian's request to retain a student on
51 grade level based on the student's academic ability or the student's social, emotional, or
52 physical maturity.
53 (3) An LEA shall reasonably accommodate a parent's or guardian's initial selection of a
54 teacher or request for a change of teacher.
55 (4) An LEA shall reasonably accommodate the request of a student's parent or guardian
56 to visit and observe any class the student attends.

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Senate Committee Amendments 2-28-2014 lp/aos 57

(5) An LEA shall reasonably accommodate the request of a student's parent or guardian
58 to excuse the student from attendance for a family S. [ vacation ] event .S or visit to a health care
58a provider,
59 without obtaining a note from the provider, if the student completes all assignments and takes
60 all assessments.
61 (6) An LEA shall reasonably accommodate a parent's or guardian's determination of
62 the level of rigor of a class or subject that a student is ready or able to experience.
63 (7) Consistent with Section 53A-13-108, which requires the State Board of Education
64 to establish graduation requirements that use competency-based standards and assessments, an
65 LEA shall allow a student to earn course credit towards high school graduation without
66 completing a course in school by:
67 (a) testing out of the course; or
68 (b) demonstrating competency in course standards.
69 (8) An LEA shall reasonably accommodate a parent's or guardian's request to meet
70 with a teacher if the parent or guardian is unable to attend a regularly scheduled parent teacher
71 conference.
72 (9) At the request of a student's parent or guardian, an LEA shall excuse the student
73 from taking a test that is administered statewide or the National Assessment of Educational
74 Progress.
75 (10) (a) An LEA shall provide for the distribution of a copy of a school's discipline and
76 conduct policy to each student in accordance with Section 53A-11-903 .
77 (b) An LEA shall notify a parent or guardian of a student's violation of a school's
78 discipline and conduct policy and allow a parent or guardian to respond to the notice in
79 accordance with Chapter 11, Part 9, School Discipline and Conduct Plans.