Utah Legislature: Bill would help foreign exchange students

SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that would give more leeway for foreign exchange students to attend Utah schools passed unanimously through the House Education Committee.

HB433, sponsored by Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, would allow a foreign exchange student into a crowded school if the foreign student is a direct exchange with another student at the school. "If it's a true one-to-one match, there wouldn't be an increase in the population of the school," Wimmer said.

Further, the foreign exchange student must be sponsored by an agency approved by the State Board of Education, according to the legislation.

Mariana Socoloski, 17, an exchange student from Brazil who is attending Riverton High School, told the committee the bill makes sense to her. "For every student who is sent to another country, another student is coming here," she said.

Johann Kolck, 16, a German exchange student attending Kearns High School, said the bill is "just good old American common sense."

Aleta Taylor, of South Jordan, parent of seven, said her family has hosted foreign exchange students, and it encouraged her children to learn foreign languages. Her daughter was one of the first children in Utah to enroll in Chinese classes during high school. Her son is now a Spanish interpreter at a hospital, she said.

Jordan District Superintendent Barry Newbold said, "Foreign exchange students really are an asset to our school communities."

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