- The UEA-initiated House Bill 396, which allocates $25 million for licensed educators to receive flexible, educator-directed paid hours for job-related duties performed outside of contract time, received a unanimous vote in the House and now goes to the Senate.
- Another 50 educators spent the morning on the Hill during the final UEA Educator Day on the Hill of the 2022 Legislative Session.
- A bill that would have expanded full-day kindergarten (HB193) was substituted with a version that essentially maintains the existing optional extended-day kindergarten program.
- A bill prohibiting “sensitive materials” in a public school (HB374) passed a committee hearing after dozens of Utah Parents United and Utah Eagle Forum representatives commented in support.
- The Senate passed a bill (SB62) expanding the Special Needs Scholarship voucher program to include siblings of scholarship students.
Educator Day on the Hill (reported by Mike Kelley): About 50 educators met early for the final Educator Day on the Hill of the 2022 Legislative Session. Participants came from Alpine, Jordan, Salt Lake, Davis, Granite, Weber, Tooele, Uintah, Washington County, San Juan, Ogden, Iron, South Summit, Sevier, Canyons School Districts and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. The group also included a contingent of Hope Street Teacher Fellows.
During the morning briefing, several legislators, including Sen. David Hinkins, Sen. Kathleen Riebe, Rep. Joel Briscoe and Rep. Marsha Judkins, stopped by to thank educators and provide some insight on bills moving through the process.
In all, more than 250 educators attended the six attendance-restricted Educator Day on the Hill events held in 2022. As teachers participate in the legislative process, they gain greater understanding about the importance of being politically involved in order to protect public education and to advocate for students. Read about some of their experiences.
House Education Committee (reported by Jay Blain): With just one final House Education Committee scheduled before the session ends, today’s agenda was packed. All the passed bills now move to the full House:
- HB374 (2nd sub.) Sensitive Materials in Schools, as substituted, defines certain instructional materials as sensitive materials and prohibits sensitive materials in a public school. It also requires the State Board of Education to, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, provide guidance and training to public schools on identifying sensitive material. Furthermore, it requires the State Board to report to the Education Interim Committee and the Government Operations Interim Committee on implementation and compliance with the certain provisions. There are exemptions for medical classes, health classes, family consumer sciences and other courses that the State Board designates. Utah Parents United and the Utah Eagle Forum were out in full force to support the bill. Questions were raised about such things as Shakespeare plays and other curriculum. It passed on a vote of 11-2. The UEA opposes this bill.
- HB390 (1st sub.): Early College and Concurrent Enrollment Program Amendments allows LEAs to pay fees for AP tests and Concurrent Enrollment Programs. It passed unanimously.
- HB481: Education Reporting Amendments modifies two reports: Digital Teaching and Learning and Early Learning. It passed unanimously.
- HJR20: Joint Resolution Designating National Speech and Debate Education Day passed unanimously. The UEA supports this resolution.
- HB417: Online Course Access Amendments requires the State Board of Education to use funds from an appropriation to the Statewide Online Education Program to pay an online course fee for a student attending a small school. It passed unanimously.
- HB428 (2nd sub.): School Safety Amendments requires the State Board of Education to provide training on certain state and federal law. It also requires an LEA to review information on harassment and discrimination within the LEA, adopt a plan for harassment- and discrimination-free learning, and report on the plan. It also requires the state board and an LEA to report data on the demographics of a victim of bullying, hazing, cyber-bullying, or retaliation. The bill passed on a vote of 8-3.
- HB475: Use of Public Education Stabilization Account One-time Funding appropriates $64 million for teacher flex hours, $50 million for small district capital project fund and limited to counties of the 4th, 5th, and 6th class, and provides a general distribution to LEA’s for capital and technology on a base-plus model. The bill could change as the budget evolves. It passed unanimously.
- HB478: Minimum Basic Tax Rate Reduction removes two add-ons to the basic rate, one that funds property tax equalization and one that funds the Teacher and Student Success Account (Program). The sponsor called it a tax break on property tax. UEA Legislative Team member Jay Blain expressed gratitude for all the work that Rep. Brad Last has done and collaboration he has provide over the years. He asked what would happen to the Teacher and Student Success Account and the programs it provides in schools. The bill passed on a vote of 12-2.
- HB366 (1st sub.): Education Sovereignty and Curriculum Transparency has completely changed from the original. It now requires local governing boards to continue and encourage methods to ensure curriculum transparency. The bill failed on a vote of 5-5.
Senate Education Committee (reported by Sara Jones): After passing successfully out of the House, HB193 (4th sub.): Full-day Kindergarten took a surprising turn in a Senate Education Committee hearing today. A substitute version of the bill was adopted, effectively gutting the bill. Rather than requiring school districts to adopt a full-day kindergarten option by 2025, this new version of the bill maintains the existing optional extended-day kindergarten program. We expect to see yet another substitute version when the bill is debated on the Senate floor, perhaps returning to something closer to the original. Stay tuned!
- HB396: Paid Professional Hours for Educators allocates $25 million for licensed educators to receive flexible, educator-directed paid hours for job-related duties performed outside of contract time. The bill is a key budget priority for UEA. With nearly all members of the House of Representatives signed on as bill co-sponsors it was certain to pass, which it did unanimously. The bill is on Monday’s Senate Education Committee schedule.
- SCR5: Concurrent Resolution Honoring 125th Anniversary of the National Parent Teacher Association passed unanimously and now goes to the governor.
- HB420: Title IX Reporting creates a requirement for schools to report the number of students participating in gender-designated sports as well as the amount of money spent on each sport. If data show more than a 10% discrepancy between male and female sports, then the school must create an action plan. The bill passed on a vote of 63-4.
Senate Floor (reported by Mike Kelley): The following UEA-tracked bills were heard in the Senate:
- HB114 (2nd sub.): School Nursing Services Amendments creates a requirement for districts and charter schools to reduce the student to school nurse ratio within four years. The UEA supports this bill. It passed on a vote of 25-1 and now goes to the governor.
- HB103: Student Intervention Early Warning Program converts the student intervention early warning pilot program into an ongoing program. The UEA supports this bill. It passed unanimously and returns to the House to concur with an amendment.
- SB21: School Standards Review Committee Sunset Extension makes a technical change to extend the existing repeal date for a standards review committee to 2028. The UEA supports this bill. It passed unanimously and now goes to the House for consideration.
- SB62 (4th sub.): Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program Amendments expands eligibility for the program to include siblings of scholarship students in addition to other changes. The bill was substituted and passed the Senate on a vote of 18-11 and now goes to the House.
Upcoming Legislation to Watch
- SB244: Ethnic Studies Amendments.
- SB251: Grow Your Own Teacher and School Counselor Pipeline Program.
- SB245: School Turnaround Program Revisions.
- HB396: Paid Professional Hours for Educators. The UEA strongly supports this
- HB386 (1st sub.): Education Innovation Program.
- HB380: School Enrollment Amendments. The UEA supports this bill.
- HB356 (2nd sub.): Athletic Coaching Standards Amendments. The UEA opposes this bill.
- HB420: Title IX Reporting.
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- See the 2022 UEA Legislative Tracking Sheet for the current bills tracked by UEA.
- View all legislative happenings at UEA Under the Dome.