H.B. 144 Enrolled

TASK FORCE ON LEARNING STANDARDS AND
ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION
1999 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Tammy J. Rowan
AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; CREATING A TASK FORCE ON
LEARNING STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION;
PROVIDING FOR MEMBERSHIP; PROVIDING FOR STAFF; PROVIDING DUTIES;
PROVIDING A REPORTING DATE; APPROPRIATING $64,500 FROM THE GENERAL
FUND; AND PROVIDING A REPEAL DATE.
This act enacts uncodified material.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Task Force on Learning Standards and Accountability in Public Education
-- Membership -- Compensation -- Staff.
(1) There is created the Task Force on Learning Standards and Accountability in Public
Education consisting of the following 13 members:
(a) three members of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate, no more than
two of whom may be from the same political party;
(b) five members of the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House
of Representatives, no more than three of whom may be from the same political party;
(c) the governor or the governor's designee;
(d) two members from the State Board of Education, appointed by the board; and
(e) two local board of education members from an urban and rural school district
appointed by the Utah School Boards Association.
(2) (a) The president of the Senate shall designate a member of the Senate appointed under
Subsection (1)(a) as a cochair of the task force.
(b) The speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate a member of the House
of Representatives appointed under Subsection (1)(b) as a cochair of the task force.
(3) In conducting its business, the task force shall comply with the rules of Legislative

interim committees.
(4) (a) Legislators on the task force shall receive compensation and expenses in accordance
with Section 36-2-2 and Legislative Joint Rule 15.03.
(b) Members who are not government employees receive no compensation or benefits for
their service, but may receive per diem and expenses incurred in the performance of the members'
official duties at the rates established by the Division of Finance under Sections 63A-3-106 and
63A-3-107 .
(c) Members may decline to receive per diem and expenses for their services.
(5) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall provide staff support to
the task force.
Section 2. Task force duties -- Interim report.
(1) The task force shall notify and seek input from the State Board of Education, the Utah
School Boards Association, the Utah School Superintendents Association, the Utah Parents and
Teachers Association, the Utah Education Association, the Utah Public Education Coalition, the
state's colleges of education, and other members of the state's public education community, including
teachers, students, and parents of students on the following issues:
(a) student performance standards and accountability programs that have been implemented
and proven to be successful in raising the level of student performance;
(b) measurable objectives regarding student performance that have been or could be
validated;
(c) adoption by the state of a proven education system that has successfully incorporated
standards, testing, and local autonomy to raise student achievement; and
(d) development of a series of recommendations for consideration by the Legislature, the
State Board of Education, and local school boards focused on enhancing student achievement at each
school in the state's public education system to include:
(i) adopting measurable state learning standards and, where appropriate, national learning
standards that describe the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn at each grade level;
(ii) implementing assessment methods or procedures closely aligned with the state learning

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standards to enable the schools, the state, and the public to know whether students are learning the
skills they need to succeed in each grade;
(iii) recognizing and rewarding schools that meet or exceed the established standards, which
could also include ratings for schools; and
(iv) providing for a mechanism that aids schools not meeting the established standards.
(2) (a) The task force shall issue at least two reports on its activities to the Legislature's
Education Interim Committee and the State Board of Education.
(b) The task force shall issue its first report no later than November 30, 1999, recommending
what action the Legislature and the State Board of Education need to take in order to have an
effective statewide standards and accountability program for public education functioning by July
1, 2000.
(c) The task force shall issue its final report no later than November 30, 2000, with a focus
on the extent to which the standards and accountability program has been implemented at the
district, school, and classroom level.
Section 3. Appropriation.
There is appropriated from the General Fund for fiscal year 1998-99:
(1) $5,500 to the Senate to pay for the compensation and expenses of senators on the task
force;
(2) $9,000 to the House of Representatives to pay for the compensation and expenses of
representatives on the task force; and
(3) $50,000 to the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to pay for staffing
the task force.
Section 4. Repeal date.
This act is repealed November 30, 2000.

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