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S.B. 57 Enrolled

                 

INSTRUCTION IN MANDARIN CHINESE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

                 
2001 GENERAL SESSION

                 
STATE OF UTAH

                 
Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson

                  This act modifies provisions related to the State System of Public Education by allowing the
                  State Board of Education and the State Board of Regents to develop and implement a
                  concurrent enrollment course on Mandarin Chinese to be taught over EDNET. The act
                  takes effect upon approval.
                  This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
                  ENACTS:
                      53A-15-101.5, Utah Code Annotated 1953
                  Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
                      Section 1. Section 53A-15-101.5 is enacted to read:
                      53A-15-101.5. Concurrent enrollment instruction in Mandarin Chinese.
                      (1) (a) As used in this section, "category IV languages" means those languages designated
                  the most difficult to learn by the Defense Language Institute as provided in training to members
                  of the United States Military.
                      (b) The Legislature recognizes:
                      (i) the importance of students acquiring skills in foreign languages in order for them to
                  successfully compete in a global society; and
                      (ii) that the acquisition of category IV languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, Arabic,
                  Korean, and Japanese, by students in the state's public schools requires extended sequences of
                  study to acquire useful proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
                      (2) (a) As a component of the concurrent enrollment program authorized under Section
                  53A-15-101 , the State Board of Education and the State Board of Regents, in consultation with
                  the Utah Education Network, may develop and implement a concurrent enrollment course of study
                  in the category IV language of Mandarin Chinese.
                      (b) The course shall be taught over EDNET, the state's two-way interactive system for
                  video and audio, to high school juniors and seniors in the state's public education system.


                      (3) (a) The concurrent enrollment course in Mandarin Chinese authorized in Subsection (2)
                  may use paraprofessionals in the classroom who:
                      (i) are fluent in Mandarin Chinese; and
                      (ii) can provide reinforcement and tutoring to students on days and at times when they are
                  not receiving instruction over EDNET under Subsection (2)(b).
                      (b) The State Board of Education, through the State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
                  and professors who teach Chinese in the state system of higher education shall jointly ensure that the
                  paraprofessionals are fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
                      (4) The State Board of Education and the State Board of Regents shall make joint rules on
                  the concurrent enrollment course authorized under this section in accordance with Title 63, Chapter
                  46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to include:
                      (a) notification to school districts on the times and places of the course offerings; and
                      (b) instructional materials for the course.
                      (5) Students who successfully complete the concurrent enrollment course offered under this
                  section shall receive tuition reimbursement for a sequential Mandarin Chinese course they
                  successfully complete at an institution within the state system of higher education under rules made
                  by the State Board of Regents in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative
                  Rulemaking Act.
                      (6) The State Board of Education and the State Board of Regents shall jointly track and
                  monitor the Mandarin Chinese language program and may expand the program to include other
                  category IV languages, subject to student demand for the courses and available resources.
                      Section 2. Effective date.
                      If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this act takes effect upon
                  approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah Constitution
                  Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto, the date of veto
                  override.

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