Senate committees passes education bills

Several bills sailed smoothly through the Senate Education Standing Committee Monday night.

Three bills are now headed for debate in the Senate.

A bill to give teachers a bonus if they go the extra mile in the classroom passed through the committee with a 3 to 1 vote.

HB328, sponsored by Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, is aimed at boosting teacher quality. It has a $300,000 fiscal note.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said, "I think it's worth it, even in these hard economic times."

Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Salt Lake, disagreed. "This is the wrong year. We've got a budget crisis."

Teachers would be judged 40 percent on student learning gains, with 40 percent on classroom observation and 20 percent on parent, student or community satisfaction.

A bill that would help children in military families transition to Utah schools moved through the committee unanimously.

HB194, proposed by Rep. Ronda Menlove, R-Garland, would allow for military transfer students to attend school without being held up waiting for their records or immunization papers; attend kindergarten if they had started in another state but didn't meet the required Utah age; and have flexibility in transferring classes required for graduation.

There are about 3,000 students in Utah whose families are stationed here for military reasons.

Maj. Annette Barnes, the State Family Program director for the Utah National Guard and a resident of Pleasant Grove, pointed out the bill would also help students whose parents get deployed and the children have to live with a relative, therefore suddenly switching schools.

"Military kids have a lot of challenges," Barnes said.

A bill meant to clarify the operations of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind moved through the committee with a unanimous vote.

HB296, sponsored by Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork, calls for changes in administration at USDB. It allows for children who aren't deaf or blind to attend the school, and states students can stay at USDB until graduation even if they achieve grade level earlier.

"This is the culmination of two years effort," Sumsion said.

USDB has about 25 full-time students in its residential facility based in Ogden, along with several subsidiary programs statewide.

E-MAIL: astewart@desnews.com