Tuesday, January 30, 2007

This Morning,

This morning SENATE EDUCATION (in W130 at 8:03) is discussing SB 57, which would allow home-schooled students to take the Basic Skills Competency Test with public school students in their district.  Passing UBSCT is required for a high school diploma.  Parents of both public school and home school students could request diplomas if students passed the UBSCT and scored in the top 15% of students who take parts of the ACT, a national college entrance exam.
    A  program to increase students' math proficiency in grades 4, 5 and 6 would be created by SB 65.  School districts and charter schools could submit detailed plans to improve math to the State Office of Education, to be funded by an appropriation of $18 million a year.

HOUSE EDUCATION meets this afternoon from 3 to 5  in W135 for a public discussion of HB 148, Education Vouchers.  HB 148 says that families with up to 250% of the income that qualifies them for reduced-price school meals can apply to the State Board of Education for scholarships to private schools. Scholarships range from $500 to $3,000 per student (depending on family income) and are paid out of the General Fund, estimated to cost $9.3 million in fiscal 2008.  Unused scholarship money would go back to the Minimum School Program.  Scholarship students who transferred to a private school would still be enrolled in their public school district for five years.  For each student, that district would continue to receive minimum school program funds, minus the amount of an statewide average scholarship. Other parts of HB 148 discuss private school quality, accountability and non-discrimination from a parent's point of view, although not from the point of view of taxpayers who would have to support them.  HB 148 specifically grants no additional authority to the state to regulate private schools.  However, schools meeting in a home, or with fewer than 40 students, would not be eligible for scholarships.

HOUSE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (at 3 pm in W125) this afternoon to debate HB 235, a revision of Utah's abortion law.  It says if Roe v Wade is overturned, abortions would be allowed in Utah only to avert a woman's death, avert a serious risk to a woman of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function, or in case of rape or incest.

Sandy Peck

League of Women Voters, 3804 Highland Drive 8-D, Salt Lake City UT 84106

(801)272-8683 fax (801)272-5942

www.lwvutah.org

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