MINUTES OF HOUSE EDUCATION
STANDING COMMITTEE
Room 30, House Building
March 1, 2013
MEMBERS PRESENT: Rep. Francis Gibson, Chair
Rep. Lowry Snow, Vice Chair
Rep. Patrice M. Arent
Rep. Rich Cunningham
Rep. Steve Eliason
Rep. Greg H. Hughes
Rep. David Lifferth
Rep. Carol Spackman Moss
Rep. Jim Nielson
Rep. Val Peterson
Rep. Marie H. Poulson
MEMBERS EXCUSED: Rep. Dan McCay
Rep. Kraig Powell
Rep. Dean Sanpei
MEMBERS ABSENT: Rep. Brad Last
Rep. Keven Stratton
STAFF PRESENT: Constance C. Steffen, Policy Analyst
Linda Service, Committee Secretary
Note: List of visitors and copy of handouts are filed with committee minutes.
Chair Gibson called the meeting to order at 4:27 p.m.
MOTION: Rep. Arent moved to approve the minutes of February 27, 2013. The motion
passed unanimously with Rep. Hughes, Rep. Peterson, and Rep. Snow absent for the vote.
Chair Gibson announced that Rep. McCay, Rep. Powell, and Rep. Sanpei were excused from the
meeting.
H.B. 344 Establishment of Charter Schools Amendments (Rep. D. Lifferth)
Rep. Lifferth introduced the bill which modifies provisions regarding applying for and approving
the establishment of a charter school.
Rep. Nielson moved to amend the bill as follows:
1. Page
1, Lines 13 through 17
:
13
. requires the State Charter School Board to request applications to establish a:
14
. military charter school;
15
. charter school whose mission is to enhance learning opportunities for
students at
16
risk of academic failure;
{
and
}
17
. charter school whose focus is career and technical education;
. single gender charter school; or
. charter school with an international focus that provides opportunities
for the exchange of students or teachers with foreign schools;
2. Page
1, Lines 18 through 19
:
18
.
{
allows
}
requires
the State Charter School Board to request
applications to establish other
19
charter schools that meet the unique learning styles and needs of students;
3. Page
2, Lines 41 through 47
:
41
(2) (a) The State Charter School Board shall request individuals, groups of
individuals,
42
or not-for-profit legal entities to submit an application to the State Charter School Board
to
43
establish:
44
(i) a military charter school;
45
(ii) a charter school whose mission is to enhance learning opportunities for students
at
46
risk of academic failure;
{
or
}
47
(iii) a charter school whose focus is career and technical education
{
.
}
;
(iv) a single gender charter school; or
(v) a charter school with an international focus that provides opportunities for
the exchange of students or teachers.
4. Page
2, Lines 48 through 50
:
48
(b) In addition to a charter school identified in Subsection (2)(a), the State Charter
49
School Board
{
may
}
shall
request applications for other types of charter
schools that meet the unique
50
learning styles and needs of students.
The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Peterson and Rep Snow absent for the vote.
The following spoke in support of the bill:
Mr. Peter Cannon, speaking on behalf of himself
Mr. Brad Nelson, Spectrum Academy
Ms. Erin Preston, Providence Hall and Utah Charter Network
Mr. Tim Beagley, State Charter School Board
Dr. Sara Jones, Utah Education Association, spoke in opposition to the bill.
MOTION: Rep. Arent moved to amend the bill as follows:
Page 2, Line 41: Delete "shall" and insert "may"
The motion failed with Rep. Arent, Rep. Moss, Rep. Nielson, and Rep. Poulson voting in favor
of the motion.
MOTION: Rep. Nielson moved to pass the bill out with a favorable recommendation. The
motion passed unanimously with Rep. Peterson and Rep. Snow absent for the vote.
H.B. 345 Expanding Access for Sixth Graders to Secondary Education (Rep. D.
Brown)
Rep. Brown introduced the bill which amends certain provisions related to secondary school
students to provide that certain students in grade six be treated as secondary school students.
Mr. Mike Sirois, Canyons School District, assisted in the presentation.
MOTION: Rep. Poulson moved to pass the bill out with a favorable recommendation. The
motion passed unanimously with Rep. Snow absent for the vote.
MOTION: Rep. Eliason moved to place the bill on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed
unanimously with Rep. Snow absent for the vote.
S.B. 175 Assessment of College Readiness (Sen. H. Stephenson) (Rep. S. Eliason)
Sen. Stephenson introduced the bill which modifies provisions regarding the assessment of high
school students' college readiness.
The following spoke in support of the bill:
Dr. Martell Menlove, State Superintendent
Mr. Chris Bleak, Association of Charter Schools MOTION: Rep. Nielson moved to pass the bill out with a favorable recommendation. The
motion passed unanimously with Rep. Peterson and Rep. Snow absent for the vote.
S.B. 39 Parental Responsibility for Sex Education Training (Sen. S. Reid) (Rep. J.
Peterson)
Sen. Reid introduced the bill which requires the State Board of Education to offer training to
parents regarding health education, including human sexuality, for their children.
Dr. Martell Menlove spoke in opposition to the bill.
The following spoke in support of the bill:
Ms. Gayle Ruzicka, Utah Eagle Forum
Ms. Liz Zentner, President Elect, Utah PTA
Rep. Eliason moved to pass the bill out with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed
with Rep. Nielson voting in opposition to the motion. Rep. Peterson was absent for the vote.
H.B. 151 Chronic Absenteeism Amendments (Rep. J. Briscoe)
H.B. 151 was not heard.
MOTION: Rep. Lifferth moved to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously with Rep.
Peterson absent for the vote. Chair Gibson adjourned the meeting at 5:33 p.m.
___________________________________
Rep. Francis Gibson, Chair