S.B. 99 Enrolled

CORE CURRICULUM AMENDMENTS
2002 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: David L. Gladwell
This act modifies provisions related to the State System of Public Education by requiring the
State Board of Education to consult with teachers and parents in establishing the core
curriculum and to align the core curriculum and tests administered under the Utah
Performance Assessment System for Students (U-PASS) with each other. This act directs the
State Board of Education to recommend instructional materials for use in public schools and
allows each school to select instructional materials and teaching methods it considers most
appropriate to meet core curriculum objectives.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
53A-1-402.6, as enacted by Chapter 301, Laws of Utah 2000
53A-12-204, as last amended by Chapter 174, Laws of Utah 1997
53A-13-101, as last amended by Chapter 105, Laws of Utah 2001
53A-14-101, as last amended by Chapter 84, Laws of Utah 2001
53A-14-102, as last amended by Chapter 84, Laws of Utah 2001
53A-17a-121, as last amended by Chapter 335, Laws of Utah 2001
53A-25a-105, as enacted by Chapter 280, Laws of Utah 1994
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 53A-1-402.6 is amended to read:
53A-1-402.6. Core curriculum.
(1) In establishing minimum standards related to curriculum and instruction requirements
under [Subsection] Section 53A-1-402 [(1)(c)], the State Board of Education shall, in consultation
with local school boards [and local], school superintendents, teachers, and parents define and
establish a core curriculum.
(2) The board shall:
(a) include in its definition an identification of the basic knowledge, skills, and

competencies each student is expected to acquire or master as the student advances through the
public education system[.]; and
(b) align the core curriculum and tests administered under the Utah Performance Assessment
System for Students (U-PASS) with each other.
(3) (a) Local school boards shall design their school programs to focus on the core
curriculum with the expectation that each program will enhance or help achieve mastery of the core
curriculum.
(b) As part of the report required by each school for its participation in the School LAND
Trust Program under Section 53A-16-101.5 , the school committee shall report on the value of each
program at the school that is part of the school trust land plan as it relates to enhancing the core
curriculum.
(4) Except as provided in Section 53A-13-101 , each school may select instructional
materials and methods of teaching that it considers most appropriate to meet core curriculum
objectives.
Section 2. Section 53A-12-204 is amended to read:
53A-12-204. Purchase of textbooks by local school board -- Sales to pupils -- Free
textbooks -- Textbooks provided to teachers -- Payment of costs -- Rental of textbooks.
(1) A local school board, under rules adopted by the State Board of Education, may purchase
textbooks [approved by the state board] for use in the public schools directly from the publisher at
prices and terms approved by the state board and may sell those books to pupils in grades nine
through 12 at a cost not to exceed the actual cost of the book plus costs of transportation and
handling.
(2) Each local school board, however, shall provide, free of charge, textbooks and
workbooks required for courses of instruction for each child attending public schools whose parent
or guardian is financially unable to purchase them.
(3) Children who are receiving cash assistance under Title 35A, Chapter 3, Part 3, Family
Employment Program, supplemental security income, or who are in the custody of the Division of
Child and Family Services within the Department of Human Services are eligible for free textbooks

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and workbooks under this section.
(4) The local school board shall also purchase all books necessary for teachers to conduct
their classes.
(5) The cost of furnishing textbooks and workbooks may be paid from school operating
funds, the textbook fund, or from other available funds.
(6) Books provided to teachers and pupils without charge or at less than full cost are paid
for out of funds of the district and remain the property of the district.
(7) In school districts that require pupils to rent books instead of purchasing them or
providing them free of charge, the local school board shall waive rental fees for a child whose parent
or guardian is financially unable to pay the rental fee. The children considered eligible under
Subsection (3) are also eligible for the purposes of this Subsection (7).
Section 3. Section 53A-13-101 is amended to read:
53A-13-101. Instruction in health -- Parental consent requirements -- Character habits
-- Conduct and speech of school employees and volunteers -- Political and religious doctrine
prohibited.
(1) (a) The State Board of Education shall establish curriculum requirements under Section
53A-1-402 , that include instruction in:
(i) community and personal health;
(ii) physiology;
(iii) personal hygiene; and
(iv) prevention of communicable disease.
(b) (i) That instruction shall stress:
(A) the importance of abstinence from all sexual activity before marriage and fidelity after
marriage as methods for preventing certain communicable diseases; and
(B) personal skills that encourage individual choice of abstinence and fidelity.
(ii) (A) At no time may instruction be provided, including responses to spontaneous
questions raised by students, regarding any means or methods that facilitate or encourage the
violation of any state or federal criminal law by a minor or an adult.

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(B) Subsection (1)(b)(ii)(A) does not preclude an instructor from responding to a
spontaneous question as long as the response is consistent with the provisions of this section.
(c) (i) The board shall [approve] recommend instructional materials for use in the curricula
required under Subsection (1)(a) [upon recommendation of] after considering evaluations of
instructional materials by the State [Textbook] Instructional Materials Commission [or its successor].
(ii) A local school board may choose to adopt:
(A) the instructional materials [approved] recommended under Subsection (1)(c)(i); or
(B) other instructional materials as provided in state board rule.
(iii) The state board rule made under Subsection (1)(c)(ii)(B) shall include, at a minimum:
(A) that the materials adopted by a local school board under Subsection (1)(c)(ii)(B) shall
be based upon recommendations of the school district's Curriculum Materials Review Committee
that comply with state law and state board rules emphasizing abstinence before marriage and fidelity
after marriage, and prohibiting instruction in:
(I) the intricacies of intercourse, sexual stimulation, or erotic behavior;
(II) the advocacy of homosexuality;
(III) the advocacy or encouragement of the use of contraceptive methods or devices; or
(IV) the advocacy of sexual activity outside of marriage;
(B) that the adoption of instructional materials shall take place in an open and regular
meeting of the local school board for which prior notice is given to parents and guardians of students
attending schools in the district and an opportunity for them to express their views and opinions on
the materials at the meeting;
(C) provision for an appeal and review process of the local school board's decision; and
(D) provision for a report by the local school board to the State Board of Education of the
action taken and the materials adopted by the local school board under Subsections (1)(c)(ii)(B) and
(1)(c)(iii).
(2) (a) Instruction in the courses described in Subsection (1) shall be consistent and
systematic in grades eight through 12.
(b) At the request of the board, the Department of Health shall cooperate with the board in

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developing programs to provide instruction in those areas.
(3) (a) The board shall adopt rules that:
(i) provide that the parental consent requirements of Sections 76-7-322 and 76-7-323 are
complied with; and
(ii) require a student's parent or legal guardian to be notified in advance and have an
opportunity to review the information for which parental consent is required under Sections 76-7-322
and 76-7-323 .
(b) The board shall also provide procedures for disciplinary action for violation of Section
76-7-322 or 76-7-323 .
(4) Honesty, temperance, morality, courtesy, obedience to law, respect for and an
understanding of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutions of the United States and the
state of Utah, Utah history including territorial and preterritorial development to the present, the
essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for parents and home, and the dignity
and necessity of honest labor and other skills, habits, and qualities of character which will promote
an upright and desirable citizenry and better prepare students for a richer, happier life shall be taught
in connection with regular school work.
(5) (a) In keeping with the requirements of Subsection (4), and because school employees
and volunteers serve as examples to their students, school employees or volunteers acting in their
official capacities may not support or encourage criminal conduct by students, teachers, or
volunteers.
(b) To ensure the effective performance of school personnel, the limitations described in
Subsection (5)(a) also apply to school employees or volunteers acting outside of their official
capacities if:
(i) they knew or should have known that their action could result in a material and
substantial interference or disruption in the normal activities of the school; and
(ii) that action does result in a material and substantial interference or disruption in the
normal activities of the school.
(c) Neither the State Office of Education nor local school districts may provide training of

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school employees or volunteers that supports or encourages criminal conduct.
(d) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules implementing this section.
(e) Nothing in this section limits the ability or authority of the State Board of Education and
local school boards to enact and enforce rules or take actions that are otherwise lawful, regarding
educators', employees', or volunteers' qualifications or behavior evidencing unfitness for duty.
(6) Except as provided in Section 53A-13-101.1 , political, atheistic, sectarian, religious, or
denominational doctrine may not be taught in the public schools.
(7) (a) Local school boards and their employees shall cooperate and share responsibility in
carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
(b) Each school district shall provide appropriate inservice training for its teachers,
counselors, and school administrators to enable them to understand, protect, and properly instruct
students in the values and character traits referred to in this section and Sections 53A-13-101.1 ,
53A-13-101.2 , 53A-13-101.3 , 53A-13-301 , and 53A-13-302 and distribute appropriate written
materials on the values, character traits, and conduct to each individual receiving the inservice
training.
(c) The written materials shall also be made available to classified employees, students, and
parents and guardians of students.
(d) In order to assist school districts in providing the inservice training required under
Subsection (7)(b), the State Board of Education shall as appropriate, contract with a qualified
individual or entity possessing expertise in the areas referred to in Subsection (7)(b) to develop and
disseminate model teacher inservice programs which districts may use to train the individuals
referred to in Subsection (7)(b) to effectively teach the values and qualities of character referenced
in that subsection.
(e) In accordance with the provisions of Subsection (5)(c), inservice training may not support
or encourage criminal conduct.
(8) If any one or more provision, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this section,
or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is found to be unconstitutional, the balance
of this section shall be given effect without the invalid provision, subsection, sentence, clause,

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phrase, or word.
Section 4. Section 53A-14-101 is amended to read:
53A-14-101. Creation of commission -- Powers -- Payment of expenses.
(1) The State Board of Education shall appoint a State Instructional Materials Commission
consisting of:
(a) the state superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee;
(b) a school district superintendent;
(c) a secondary school principal;
(d) an elementary school principal;
(e) a secondary school teacher;
(f) an elementary school teacher;
(g) five persons not employed in public education; and
(h) a dean of a school of education of a state college or university.
(2) The commission shall [recommend] evaluate instructional materials for [approval]
recommendation by the board.
(3) As used in this chapter, "instructional materials" means textbooks or materials used as,
or in place, of textbooks and which may be used within the state curriculum framework for courses
of study by students in public schools to include:
(a) textbooks;
(b) workbooks;
(c) computer software;
(d) laserdiscs or videodiscs; and
(e) multiple forms of communications media.
(4) Members shall serve without compensation, but their actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their official duties shall be paid out of money appropriated to the
board.
Section 5. Section 53A-14-102 is amended to read:
53A-14-102. Commission's evaluation of instructional materials -- Recommendation

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by the state board.
(1) [(a)] Semi-annually after reviewing the [recommendations] evaluations of the
commission, the board shall [approve] recommend instructional materials for use in the public
schools [under rules adopted by the board].
[(b) The board shall make a rule in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah
Administrative Rulemaking Act, providing for a process to:]
[(i) allow three school districts or more to use or substitute in courses within the state
curriculum framework instructional materials not recommended by the commission; and]
[(ii) appeal any recommendation of the commission to the board.]
(2) The standard [approval] period of time instructional materials shall remain on the list of
recommended instructional materials shall be five years.
(3) [An unsatisfactory textbook] Unsatisfactory instructional materials may be removed from
the list of [approved textbooks] recommended instructional materials at any time within the period
applicable to [that book] the instructional materials.
(4) Except as provided in Section 53A-13-101 , each school shall have discretion to select
instructional materials for use by the school. A school may select:
(a) instructional materials recommended by the board as provided in this section; or
(b) other instructional materials it considers appropriate to teach the core curriculum.
Section 6. Section 53A-17a-121 is amended to read:
53A-17a-121. Appropriation for at-risk programs.
(1) There is appropriated to the State Board of Education $25,023,588 for allocation to local
school boards for at-risk programs, including the following:
(a) youth in custody;
(b) adolescent pregnancy prevention;
(c) homeless and disadvantaged minority students;
(d) mathematics, engineering, and science achievement programs;
(e) gang prevention and intervention; and
(f) at-risk flow through.

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(2) Districts shall spend monies for these programs according to standards established by
the State Board of Education in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative
Rulemaking Act.
(3) (a) From the amount appropriated for at-risk programs, the board shall allocate moneys
for adolescent pregnancy prevention programs to school districts on the basis of a district's total
number of students enrolled in classes as of October 1 that teach a curriculum of adolescent
pregnancy prevention as compared to the total number of students enrolled in such programs in
school districts throughout the state.
(b) The adolescent pregnancy prevention programs funded under this subsection shall require
written consent from parents or guardians for student participation, involve parents or guardians of
participating students in a substantial and consistent manner, and comply with the requirements of
Sections 76-7-321 through 76-7-325 .
(c) To qualify for participation in the program, a district shall demonstrate to the state board
through prior research and pilot studies with similar student populations that those students attained
and retained knowledge, values, attitudes, and behaviors that promote abstinence from sexual
activity before marriage, and that the students had a lower pregnancy rate than comparison groups
that did not participate in the program.
(d) Further qualification requires approval by the local board [and state board] in accordance
with Section 53A-13-101 of all teaching materials, handouts, media materials, audiovisual materials,
textbooks, curriculum materials, and course outlines to be used in the program.
(e) The state board may not use a district's participation in the adolescent pregnancy
prevention program as an offset against the district's historical proportionate share of the remaining
fund balance.
(f) A school district may spend any additional monies allocated for adolescent pregnancy
prevention programs as long as the programs comply with the guidelines established in Subsections
(3)(b), (c), and (d), if the need for such a program is greater than the allocation received under
Subsection (3)(a).
(4) (a) From the amount appropriated for youth at risk programs, the board shall allocate

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moneys to school districts for homeless and disadvantaged minority students.
(b) Each district shall receive its allocation on the basis of:
(i) the total number of homeless students in the district;
(ii) added to 50% of the number of disadvantaged minority students in the district;
(iii) multiplying the total of Subsections (4)(b)(i) and (ii) by the value of the weighted pupil
unit; and
(iv) prorating the amount under Subsection (4)(b)(iii) to the amount in Subsection (4)(a).
(5) (a) From the amount appropriated for at-risk programs, the board shall allocate monies
for mathematics, engineering, and science achievement programs, MESA programs, in the districts.
(b) The board shall make the distribution to school districts on a competitive basis by
application under guidelines established by the board.
(6) (a) From the amount appropriated for at-risk programs, the board shall distribute moneys
for gang prevention and intervention programs at the district or school level.
(b) The board shall make the distribution to school districts under guidelines established by
the board consistent with Section 53A-15-601 .
(7) (a) From the amount appropriated for at-risk programs, the board shall distribute moneys
for programs for youth in custody.
(b) The board shall allocate these moneys to school districts which operate programs for
youth in custody in accordance with standards established by the board.
(8) From the amount appropriated for at-risk programs, the board shall allocate monies based
on:
(a) a formula which takes into account prior year WPU's per district and a district's low
income population; and
(b) a minimum base of no less than $18,600 for small school districts.
Section 7. Section 53A-25a-105 is amended to read:
53A-25a-105. Braille versions of textbooks.
(1) As a condition of the annual contract for instructional materials process and as a
condition of textbook acceptance, the State Board of Education through the State Office of Education

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shall require publishers of textbooks [adopted] recommended by the state board to furnish their
textbooks on computer diskettes, on request, for literary subjects in the American Standard Code for
Information Interchange (ASCII) from which Braille versions of all or part of the textbook can be
produced.
(2) When Braille translation software for specialty code translation becomes available,
publishers shall make computer diskettes available, on request, in ASCII for nonliterary subjects
such as mathematics and science.

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