S.B. 204

1

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION AMENDMENTS
2 2006 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Mark B. Madsen
5 House Sponsor: James A. Ferrin
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill allows a public school student or home school student to receive a diploma
10 based on certain assessment results.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 . allows a student enrolled in a high school in the state or attending a home school in
14 the state to receive a high school diploma if the student passes the basic skills
15 competency test and receives certain scores on the ACT.
16 Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
17 None
18 Other Special Clauses:
19 None
20 Utah Code Sections Affected:
21 AMENDS:
22 53A-1-611, as last amended by Chapter 7, Laws of Utah 2002, Fifth Special Session
23 ENACTS:
24 53A-15-104, Utah Code Annotated 1953
25
26 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
27 Section 1. Section 53A-1-611 is amended to read:

28 53A-1-611. Standards and assessment processes to measure student performance
29 -- Basic skills competency test.
30 (1) The Legislature recognizes the need for the State Board of Education to develop
31 and implement standards and assessment processes to ensure that student progress is measured
32 and that school boards and school personnel are accountable.
33 (2) (a) In addition to its responsibilities under Sections 53A-1-603 through 53A-1-605 ,
34 the State Board of Education, through the state superintendent of public instruction, shall
35 design a basic skills competency test to be administered in the tenth grade.
36 (b) A student must pass the basic skills competency test, in addition to the established
37 requirements of the state and local board of education of the district in which the student
38 attends school, in order to receive a basic high school diploma of graduation.
39 (c) The state board shall include in the test, at a minimum, components on English
40 language arts and reading and mathematics.
41 (d) A student who fails to pass all components of the test may not receive a basic high
42 school diploma but may receive a certificate of completion or alternative completion diploma
43 under rules made by the State Board of Education in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a,
44 Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
45 (e) The state board shall make rules:
46 (i) to allow students who initially fail the test to retake all or part of the test; and
47 (ii) that take into account and are consistent with federal law relating to students with
48 disabilities in the administration of the test.
49 (3) The state board shall implement the tenth grade basic skills competency test, no
50 later than the beginning of the 2003-04 school year.
51 (4) The requirements of this section are to be complementary to the other achievement
52 testing provisions of this part.
53 (5) A student who attends a home school may take the basic skills competency test at a
54 school within the student's school district of residence at the same time the test is administered
55 to public school students.
56 Section 2. Section 53A-15-104 is enacted to read:
57 53A-15-104. Diploma awarded to public school and home school students based
58 on assessments.

59 (1) A student enrolled in a high school in this state may receive a diploma from the
60 high school in which the student is enrolled, and a student that attends a home school may
61 receive a diploma from the student's school district of residence, if the student:
62 (a) passes the basic skills competency test provided by Section 53A-1-611 ; and
63 (b) receives a score on each ACT subtest that ranks in the top 15% of Utah students'
64 scores for the subtest.
65 (2) (a) Subsection (1)(b) does not apply to the ACT optional writing subtest.
66 (b) A student may satisfy the requirement in Subsection (1)(b) with subtest scores from
67 different administrations of the ACT.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-25-06 12:43 PM

Based on a limited legal review, this legislation has not been determined to have a high
probability of being held unconstitutional.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel