Utah Legislature: Reading bill draws heated debate in Senate

SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that would require schools to hold students back if they can't read well drew heated debate two days in a row in the Senate and is now headed for more discussion in the House.

"Children who are behind in the early grades stay behind and don't catch up," said bill sponsor Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights.

SB150 le.utah.gov/~2010/bills/sbillint/sb0150.htm passed in the Senate 18-8 on Tuesday. The legislation would require first-, second- and third-graders to read at or above grade level prior to advancing.

Morgan said lack of reading skills leads to myriad problems, including potentially dropping out of school.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, says he would rather see educators be proactive than flunk a child. He presented an amendment to the bill that would "provide some incentive for the system to actually take care of these kids' needs." A stipend would be provided to aid the students in reading skills to bring them up to grade level.

The amendment, however, would cost a minimum of $8.1 million to implement.

"This amendment would basically gut the bill," Morgan said, before it failed.

Stephenson said he feels holding students back is actually "punishing kids for the failure of adults."

SB150 would require schools to provide focused reading remediation such as tutoring.

Morgan points out money for remediation could come from school trust land funds or the K-3 Reading Initiative fund. "There is a lot of flexibility here," she said.

The legislation would require schools to inform parents before the middle of the school year if there was any possibility the student might not be promoted.

Schools would use multiple tests to judge the student. Students could demonstrate proficiency up to Aug. 15.

The bill would allow principals to overturn the decision if they deem it to be in the best interest of the student. There would be exemptions for students with disabilities.

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