House rejects measure to allow students to opt out of TLC program

House members killed a bill Tuesday that would have allowed parents or school districts to opt one student or all their students out of the TLC program.

The program, required teaching in the seventh or eighth grades, is controversial. Some people are great advocates of the program; others say it is a waste of time.

HB189 was killed in a rarely seen coalition of Democrats and rural Republicans.

Sponsor Rep. Jim Ferrin, R-Orem, said his bill would just allow an opt out, not a requirement that the "life sciences" class be terminated.

"It gives flexibility, choice," said Ferrin, who added he found it interesting that a conservative Legislature that often advocates giving parents more choice would oppose HB189.

He said he decided to run the bill after several charter schools came to him saying if they want to add a junior high to their current elementary program, they'd have to hire three new teachers to teach the one class, since it has three different sections.

But rural legislators said the agricultural part of TLC was vital because it shows students where their food comes from.

And several Democrats said now is not the time — when Utah bankruptcies are growing — to stop education about personal finances.

Ferrin said House members had been lobbied hard in favor of TLC. And he didn't dispute that in some districts, the classes are valuable. But are they more valuable than another hour of reading or math?

He quoted a letter from a mother who said her 7th grade daughter is reading at a second-grade level, and another hour of reading a day is much more valuable to her than learning about careers. "If she can't read, she can't get a job," said Ferrin.