In a recent meeting the Emery County School District met for a working session to discuss the legislative session and bills effecting education. Superintendent Larry Davis said, 169 education bills were introduced this year and 114 passed. The new bills will add $268 million in new funds. Twenty of the bills create new rules and four of the bills create new programs. The bills concerning education was down this year from previous years. There was a shift away from the Weighted Pupil Unit. There was more talk about funding and advancing programs.
Superintendent Davis highlighted the following bills:
House Bill 11 will reorganize and renumber provisions of the public education code. School districts will need to update policies as needed.
HB 46 concerns educator licensing modifications. There will be three tiers: an associates degree, a licensed and credentialed professional and a Local Educational Agency option of hiring out of necessity. In January the alternative route to licensing will go away. This will not have an impact those who are currently using the alternative route.
HB 132 is the juvenile justice bill. One of the good things about the bill is it allows a two year reprieve for developing a plan for truancy. This will allow districts time to come up with a solid plan to deal with truancy. The school district will develop a plan to track kids who are truant. You will not be able to refer a student to the court system for truancy unless there has been other interventions by the school district.
HB 228 requires school districts and charter schools to provide child sexual abuse prevention training every other year. The district is looking into making the training online.
HB 233 provides a salary supplement for a teacher who has a degree in special education and teaches special education.
HB 234 amends the definition of a valid excuse to miss school. The illness can be physical or mental.
HB 237 requires the state board of regents to establish a policy concerning a qualified instructor to teach concurrent enrollment classes. It repeals the requirement that instructors be approved by an institution of higher education.
HB 264 allows the state board of education to award grants to elementary schools for school counselors. The district is researching this bill to see if the district qualifies for funding.
HB 317 will allow a resource student to finish the school year if they turn 22 during the school year.
HB 327 requires Utah State University to administer a pilot program through a county extension office to help people living in rural areas take advantage of freelance, job and business opportunities available online. Washington County was chosen for the pilot program. Superintendent Davis will contact state legislators and find out why Washington County was chosen instead of a rural county.
HB 331 requires drivers education to educate students on ways drivers can improve air quality and the harmful effects of vehicle emissions.
HB 370 expands the scope of suicide prevention programs in schools. Funding will be available for school based suicide prevention programs.
HB 437 creates scholarships for qualified students attending technical colleges.
HB 439 creates a one level enhancement for sexual abuse when the actor is a teacher, employee or volunteer at a school and the victim is a student.
HB 456 addresses the age in which schools may offer the underage drinking prevention program to students.
House Resolution 19 urges the president, congress and the Utah delegation to make PILT payments be fair and a steady source of revenue that would otherwise be generated but for the federal control of Utah lands.
House Joint Resolution 20 will present an opinion question to voters to determine a tax increase for the Our Schools Now initiative. The proposed tax is 10 cents per gallon with 7 cents of every dollar going to schools.
HR 1 urges school districts to implement the restorative justice program to provide intervention to students to help them stay in school and deal with their issues in a healthy and constructive way.
SB 11 and SB 12 will update policies as needed.
SB 87 will amend the fire code regarding locks in schools. The height on the door locks can be changed for lock down purposes. The bill passed prior to the Florida school shooting. The governor is proposing a special session to discuss school safety.
SB 125 clarifies the requirement for school personnel to report child abuse or neglect to include educational neglect to the Division of Child and Family Services.
SB 194 will amend the requirements for the school district related to the early literacy program.
SB 198 requires the district to compete an annual report of law enforcement, disciplinary actions related to students with information regarding the race, gender, age and disability of a student involved in certain law enforcement and disciplinary actions.
A complete list of the 2018 public education summary can be downloaded at schools.utah.gov.
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