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MINUTES OF HOUSE EDUCATION
STANDING COMMITTEE
February 22, 2005
Room W010, West Office Building, State Capitol Complex

MEMBERS PRESENT:    Rep. Margaret Dayton, Chair
        Rep. LaVar Christensen, Vice Chair
        Rep. Duane Bourdeaux
        Rep. James A. Ferrin
        Rep. James R. Gowans
        Rep. David L. Hogue
        Rep. Gregory H. Hughes
        Rep. Bradley T. Johnson
        Rep. Merlynn T. Newbold
        Rep. LaWanna Shurtliff
        
MEMBERS ABSENT:    Rep. Ron Bigelow
        Rep. John Dougall
        Rep. Kory Holdaway
        Rep. Carol Spackman Moss
        Rep. Stephen Urquhart
            
STAFF PRESENT:    Constance C. Steffen, Policy Analyst
        Cindy Baker, Committee Secretary
        Dee S Larsen, Associate General Counsel

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

Chair Dayton called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. and welcomed committee members. Pictures of Glenda Whitney's son in Iraq were shared. Rep. Dayton relinquished the chair at 8:08 a.m. to Vice Chair Christensen.

MOTION:    Rep. Hogue moved to approve the minutes of February 18, 2005. The motion     passed unanimously with Representatives Gowans, Hughes, and Johnson absent
    for the vote.

H.B. 356    State Government Law Revisions-Withdrawal from Education Compact     (M. Dayton)

Rep. Dayton, assisted by Tim Bridgewater, Governor's Office, introduced the bill which provides for the withdrawal of the state from the Compact for Education.

MOTION:    Rep. Dayton moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed          unanimously with Representatives Gowans, Hughes and Johnson absent for the     vote.


MOTION:    Rep. Newbold moved to place the bill on the consent calendar. The motion     passed unanimously with Representatives Gowans, Hughes and Johnson absent     for the vote.

H.B. 326    High School Curriculum and Early Graduation (B. Daw)

Rep. Daw introduced the bill which provides for the establishment of a college preparation curriculum for high school students.

MOTION:    Rep. Newbold moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 1, Lines 1 through 2 :    

             1     
HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM
[[  AND EARLY

             2     
GRADUATION   ]]


2.    Page 1, Line 9 :    

             9          This bill provides for additional high school curriculum
[[  and GED test   ]] provisions.


3.    Page 1, Lines 15 through 18 :    

             15      and other curricula;
  and      

             16          .    encourages a meeting to select which curriculum the student will follow
[[  ; and   ]]       .      

             17          
[[  .    requires the State Board of Education to apply to GED to allow enrolled high school

             18      students to take the GED test.   ]]

4.    Page 1, Line 26 :    

             26          
[[  53A-1-612, Utah Code Annotated 1953   ]]


5.    Page 2, Lines 45 through 52 :    

             45          
[[  Section 2. Section 53A-1-612 is enacted to read:

             46          53A-1-612. General Educational Development Test.
             47          (1) As used in this section, "GED test" means the General Educational Development
             48      test developed by the American Council on Education and administered by the General

             49      Educational Development Testing Service.
             50          (2) The State Board of Education shall submit an application to the General
             51      Educational Development Testing Service to request that students who are currently enrolled in
             52      high school, including students who excel academically, be allowed to take the GED test.   ]]
The motion passed unanimously with Representatives Hughes , Johnson and Dayton absent for the vote.

The following spoke in support of the bill:
Tim Bridgewater, Governor's Office
Ray Timothy, State Board of Education

The following testified that the bill is unnecessary:
Carl Boyington, Secondary School Principals Association
Shirley Arnett, American Federation of Teachers
Gary Cameron, Utah School Boards Association and Utah School Superintendents Association

Wallace McCormick expressed concerns about the bill.

MOTION:    Rep. Hughes moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed          unanimously with Representative Dayton absent for the vote.

H.B. 169    Appropriation for School Districts Impacted by Fee Waivers (L. Shurtliff)

Rep Shurtliff introduced the bill which allows the State Board of Education to distribute funds to certain school districts impacted by fee waivers.

The following spoke in support of the bill:
Carl Boyington, Secondary School Principals Association
Delanie Hathaway, Utah School Boards Association
Vic Arnold, Utah Education Association
Shirley Arnett, American Federation of Teachers

MOTION:    Rep. Johnson moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed          unanimously with Representative Dayton absent for the vote.






MOTION:    Rep. Hogue moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously with
    Rep. Dayton absent for the vote. Vice Chair Christensen adjourned the meeting at     8:56 a.m.










            ____________________________                 Rep. Margaret Dayton, Chair