Watered down school clubs bill clears House

A bill that would require parental consent from students to join non-curricular clubs gained House approval Monday.

But Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, sponsor of the so-called student clubs bill, said the substitute bill that eventually passed removed much of the intent of the original bill.

HB236 would require non-curricular clubs establish a name that is connected with the purpose of the club, create a statement explaining the club's purpose, goals and activities.

The requirements in the measure are something many school districts already have in place but some lawmakers said the parental consent requirement was a good idea for all school districts.

Some lawmakers said provisions in the the original bill — leadership and operation requirements and material availability — may have been overstepping the Legislature's role and micromanaging school districts.

Rep. Scott Wyatt, R-Logan, said he has heard hours of lawmakers complaining about how federal education regulations like No Child Left Behind mandate what is going on in individual states.

"The same principal applies to us and school boards," Wyatt said. "They are elected and I believe we need to honor that the same way we want the feds to do for us."