MINUTES OF THE

HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE

Room 30, House Building

February 23, 2016

Members Present:                Rep. Brad G. Last, Chair

                                                Rep. V. Lowry Snow, Vice Chair

                                                Rep. LaVar Christensen

                                                Rep. Kim Coleman

                                                Rep. Bruce R. Cutler

                                                Rep. Steve Eliason

                                                Rep. Justin L. Fawson

                                                Rep. Francis D. Gibson

                                                Rep. Eric Hutchings

                                                Rep. David E. Lifferth

                                                Rep. Daniel McCay

                                                Rep. Carol Spackman Moss

                                                Rep. Michael E. Noel

                                                Rep. Marie H. Poulson                                    

Staff Present:                        Ms. Tiffany Stanley, Policy Analyst

                                                Ms. Linda Service, Committee Secretary

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

Vice Chair Snow called the meeting to order at 4:23 p.m.

MOTION:     Rep. Lifferth moved to approve the minutes of the February 16, 2016 and February 18, 2016 meetings. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Christensen, Rep. Gibson, Rep. Hutchings, and Rep. McCay absent for the vote.

H.B. 201         Student Testing Amendments (Rep. M. Poulson)

Rep. Poulson explained the bill with the assistance of Ms. Melody Apezteguia, 2016 Utah Teacher of the Year, Mr. Mohsen Ghaffari, 2015 Utah Teacher of the Year, and Ms. Gay Beck, 2011 Utah Teacher of the Year.

MOTION:     Rep. Poulson moved to replace H.B. 201 with 2nd Sub. H.B. 201. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Christensen, Rep. Gibson, Rep. Hutchings, and Rep. McCay absent for the vote.

Spoke to the bill: 

                        Mr. Richard Nye, Associate Superintendent, State Office of Education

                        Ms. Laurie Williams, teacher

                        Mr. Jared Carman, Reactive Learning System

Spoke for the bill:

                        Ms. Rita Heagren, American Federation of Teachers

                        Ms. Holly Allen, Ph.D specializing in measurement

                        Ms. Alisa Ellis, parent

                        Ms. Dawn Davies, Utah PTA

MOTION:     Rep. Fawson moved to pass 2nd Sub. H.B. 201 out favorably.

SUBSTITUTE MOTION:   Rep. Cutler moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 2, Lines 54 through 56:   

54   [(8)] (h) a summative evaluation that differentiates among four levels of

55performance[.]; and

56   (2) may not {  use  }  be based solely on  end-of-level assessment scores in educator evaluation.

2.    Page 3, Lines 69 through 71:   

69later than the 2015-16 school year.

70   (2) The rules described in Subsection (1) shall {  prohibit  }  not require  the use of end-of-level

71assessment scores in educator evaluation.

3.    Page 3, Lines 84 through 86:   

84   (A) shall be based primarily on an evaluation; and

85   (B) may not be based  solely  on end-of-level assessment scores; and

86   (ii) an employee may not advance on an adopted wage or salary schedule if the

4.    Page 4, Lines 100 through 102:      

100State Board of Education rules[; and].

101 (2) The rules described in Subsection (1) shall prohibit the  exclusive  use of end-of-level

102assessment scores in the evaluation of school and district administrators.

The motion failed with Rep. Cutler, Rep. Eliason, Rep. Last, and Rep. Snow voting in favor of the motion. Rep. Christensen and Rep. Coleman were absent for the vote.

Rep. Fawson's motion to pass the bill out favorably passed with Rep. Last voting in opposition to the motion. Rep. Christensen was absent for the vote.

S.B. 72            School and Institutional Trust Lands Management Act Amendments (Sen. M. Dayton) (Rep. M. McKell)

Sen. Dayton explained the bill with the assistance of Mr. Kim Christy, Deputy Director, School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.

MOTION:     Rep. Gibson moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Christensen, Rep. Coleman, and Rep. Noel absent for the vote.

MOTION:     Rep. Gibson moved to place the bill on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Christensen and Rep. Noel absent for the vote.

H.B. 175         Public Education Employment Amendments (Rep. K. Powell)

Rep. Powell explained the bill.

MOTION:     Rep. Cutler moved to replace H.B. 175 with 2nd Sub. H.B. 175. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Christensen absent for the vote.

MOTION:     Rep. Noel moved to pass 2nd Sub. H.B. 175 out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Christensen absent for the vote.

1st Sub. H.B. 164                  Educational Testing Amendments (Rep. K. Powell)

Rep. Powell explained the bill.

MOTION:     Rep. Fawson moved to replace 1st Sub. H.B. 164 with 3rd Sub. H.B. 164.

MOTION:     Rep. Last moved to move to the next item on the agenda. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Christensen and Rep. Poulson absent for the vote.

H.B. 246         Reproductive Health Amendments (Rep. Brian S. King)

Rep. King explained the bill and distributed "HB 246 - Reproductive Health Amendments."

Spoke for the bill:

                       Dr. Ellen Brady, Planned Parenthood

                       Mr. Jose Chacon, self

                       Ms. Alana Kindness, Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault

                       Dr. Jessica Sanders, self

                       Mr. Noah Bell, health teacher

Spoke against the bill:

                       Ms. Kimberly Ells, Family Watch

                       Mr. Jeremy Boberg, CEO, Utah Addiction Centers

                       Ms. Yvonne Averett, Worldwide Organization for Women

                       Ms. Tami Hirsch, health teacher

                       Mr. Bruce Rigby, Pro Life Utah

MOTION:     Rep. Moss moved to hold the bill and refer the topic to interim study.

SUBSTITUTE MOTION:   Rep. Noel moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion failed with Rep. Moss and Rep. Poulson voting in favor of the motion. Rep. Fawson was absent for the vote.

Vice Chair Snow assumed the chair.

H.B. 335         Public Education Curriculum Amendments (Rep. K. Stratton)

Rep. Stratton explained the bill with the assistance of Ms. Laura Bunker, United Families International. Rep. Stratton distributed "Child Sexual Abuse in Utah, Child and Family Services FY 2013 Statistics," and "Utah State Board of Education, HB 286 Implementation."

Chair Last assumed the chair.

Spoke for the bill:

                       Ms. Nicholeen Peck, Worldwide Organization for Women

                       Ms. Jennie Earl, Principles of Freedom

                       Ms. Gayle Ruzicka, Utah Eagle Forum

                       Ms. Joyce Champion, parent

                       Ms. Kris Kimball, self

Spoke against the bill:

                       Ms. Dana Reinke, parent

                       Dr. Brooks Keeshin, child abuse pediatrician and child psychiatrist

                       Mr. Kaili Clark, student

                       Ms. Deondra Brown, sexual abuse victims

                       Kristin Parry, parent

MOTION:     Rep. Lifferth moved to pass the bill out favorably.

PRIVILEGED MOTION:   Rep. Eliason moved to adjourn. The motion passed with Rep. Christensen, Rep. Cutler, and Rep. Lifferth voting in opposition to the motion. Vice Chair Snow adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m.

___________________________________

Rep. Brad Last, Chair