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STANDING COMMITTEE
February 21, 2006
Room W135, West Office Building, State Capitol Complex
Rep. LaVar Christensen, Vice Chair
Rep. Duane Bourdeaux
Rep. James A. Ferrin
Rep. James R. Gowans
Rep. David L. Hogue
Rep. Kory M. Holdaway
Rep. Gregory H. Hughes
Rep. Carol Spackman Moss
Rep. Merlynn T. Newbold
Rep. LaWanna Shurtliff
MEMBERS ABSENT: Rep. Ron Bigelow
Rep. John Dougall
Rep. Bradley T. Johnson
Rep. Stephen Urquhart
STAFF PRESENT: Constance C. Steffen Policy Analyst
Barbara Thomas, Committee Secretary
Dee S Larsen, Associate General Counsel
Note: List of visitors and copy of handouts are filed with committee minutes.
Vice Chair Christensen called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Vice Chair Christensen announced that the following bills on the agenda will not be heard: H.B. 340, H.B. 437, S.B. 56, S.B. 72, H.B. 310, and H.B. 190.
Minutes
MOTION: Rep. Newbold moved to approve the minutes of February 21, 2006. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Hogue, Rep. Holdaway, Rep. Hughes, and Rep. Shurtliff absent for the vote.
S.J.R. 9 Resolution Recognizing Right to Participate in Religious Expressions in Public Schools (Sen. P. Hellewell)
Sen. Hellewell introduced the resolution which recognizes the rights of public school students to voluntarily participate in religious expression in public schools.
MOTION: Rep. Ferrin moved to amend the bill as follows:
1. Page 2, Lines 45a through 45d
Senate Committee Amendments
2-6-2006 :
45a WHEREAS, courts have upheld the right of students to spontaneously
and
nondisruptively
pray in school
45b settings, and school administrators and teachers are in no way permitted to discourage
such
45c religious expression, including prayer, by a student;
45d WHEREAS, in the classroom, instruction covering religious subject matter is
The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Gowans, Rep. Hogue, and Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.
Rhonda Rose, Utah PTA, spoke in support of the bill.
Carol Lear, Utah State Office of Education, commented on the bill.
MOTION: Rep. Holdaway moved to amend the bill as follows:
1. Page 3, Line 63 :
63 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent
annually
to
each student
The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Gowans and Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.
MOTION: Rep. Hogue moved to pass the resolution as amended out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.
MOTION: Rep. Ferrin moved to place the resolution on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.
H.B. 185 Education Accountability (Rep. D. Bourdeaux)
Rep. Bourdeaux introduced Dr. Andrea Rohr, University of Utah, with whom he participated on a work group on how to improve student achievement. Rep. Bourdeaux reviewed the elements of the bill.
MOTION: Rep. Bourdeaux moved to delete in title and body H.B. 185 and adopt 1st Substitute H.B. 185. The motion passed with Rep. Dayton and Rep. Newbold voting in opposition and Rep. Ferrin absent for the vote.
Rep. Bourdeaux explained the substitute bill moves money for programs for English language learners from a block grant to a separate line item.
MOTION: Rep. Holdaway moved to pass out 1st Substitute H.B. 185 favorably. The motion passed with Rep. Dayton, Rep. Hughes, and Rep. Newbold voting in opposition and Rep. Ferrin absent for the vote.
Chair Rep. Dayton assumed the chair.
H.B. 447 Educator Phonics Requirements (Rep. D. Cox)
Rep. Cox explained the bill requires teacher candidates to take a course in phonics.
MOTION: Rep. Hogue moved to amend the bill as follows:
1. Page 2, Lines 30 through 33 :
30 (b) "Phonics" means the techniques and strategies used to teach children to match,
31 blend, and translate letters of the alphabet into the sounds they represent
{
,
which
}
with;
(i) an emphasis on explicit sequential synthetic phonics as a major instructional approach; and
(ii)
techniques and
32 strategies
{
are
}
systematically integrated and thoroughly practiced in a
developmentally
33 appropriate instructional program to assist the child in learning to read, write, and spell.
The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Ferrin and Rep. Christensen absent for the vote.
MOTION; Rep. Gowans moved to move the bill to interim study.
SUBSTITUTE
MOTION: Rep. Holdaway moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Ferrin and Rep. Christensen absent for the vote.
H.B. 437 Interpreters for Hearing Impaired (Rep. K. Morgan)
The bill was not heard.
H.C.R. 1 Early Childhood Reading Readiness Resolution (Rep. K. Morgan)
Rep. Morgan introduced the resolution which encourages reading with a child 20 minutes per day.
MOTION: Rep. Hogue moved to pass the resolution out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Ferrin and Rep. Christensen absent for the vote.
S.B. 56 Secondary School Amendments (Sen. D. C. Buttars)
The bill was not heard.
S.B. 72 Home School and Dual Enrollment Amendments (Sen. M. Madsen)
The bill was not heard.
H.B. 310 Beginning Teacher Induction (Rep. R. Menlove)
The bill was not heard.
H.B. 190 School Discipline Research Project (Rep. L. Fowlke)
The bill was not heard.
H.B. 435 School Reporting Amendments (Rep. K. Morgan)
Rep. Morgan stated the bill requires class size to be reported in a uniform manner.
By a show of hands, Pat Rusk, UEA, indicated support for the bill.
MOTION: Rep. Shurtliff moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed
unanimously with Rep. Ferrin and Rep. Christensen absent for the vote..
H.B. 134 Class Size Reduction (Rep. C. Moss)
Rep. Moss stated the bill increases the appropriation for class size reduction.
MOTION: Rep. Shurtliff moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed
unanimously with Rep. Ferrin, Rep. Holdaway, and Rep. Christensen absent
for the vote.
Chair Dayton thanked the committee and staff for their efforts.
MOTION: Rep. Gowans moved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 6:45 pm.
_____________________________
Rep. Margaret Dayton, Chair