Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers advanced two bills Wednesday that lawmakers say will strengthen parental rights in the education of their children.
SB204 would clarify parents' right to opt their children out of standardized testing and to excuse them from school. The bill clarifies legislation that was passed last year, allowing parents to excuse their children from "any summitive, interim or formative test that is not locally developed," as well as federally or state-mandated tests.
Students can be excused from school for family or medical reasons so long as the parent informs the school one day in advance and the student makes up the missed coursework, the bill states.
Parents' right to opt their children out of testing is already outlined in Utah State Board of Education policy.
Bill sponsor Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, said the bill is required to clarify current statute that outlines parental rights with regard to the education of their children. But some worry it will encourage more parents to opt their kids out of testing, giving an inaccurate picture of school performance.
"As certain groups mobilize and encourage parents to opt their kids out of the standardized tests, it's going to skew the results of the school," said Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Salt Lake City.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Brad Smith said too many opt outs could also have consequences for Title I funding in some schools, as federal accountability systems require testing participation of 95 percent or better.
"We want to balance for parental rights, and we also have the state accountability system," Osmond said. "It's really tough."
The bill passed the House in a 46-24 vote Wednesday. It now awaits approval by the governor.
Lawmakers also passed a bill that would codify parents' right to decide whether their student should participate in sex education classes in school.
The default rule for most districts is that parents have to give written permission in order for students to participate. HB447 would implement the opt-in policy statewide.
Some educators and lawmakers are opposed to language in the bill, which defines human sexuality instruction as "any course, material, unit, class, lesson, activity or presentation that, as the focus of the discussion, provides instruction or information to a student about" topics such as human reproduction, pregnancy, marriage, contraception and other subjects.
Moss said the definitions are too broad and could be construed to include literature that is routine for high school instruction.
"There are just a lot of things in that list that could be the focus of a discussion in a literature class and other classes," she said. "It's just too broad."
Bill sponsor Rep. Brad Dee, R-Ogden, disagreed, saying the bill would deal only with designated sex education classes and curriculum. He said the bill would strengthen and specify parents' prerogative to decide whether their children should participate in those classes at school.
"It makes us codify something that should be happening throughout the state of Utah in this vital subject area," Dee said. "That's our responsibility — to help parents take their responsibility."
The bill would require schools to provide a "reasonable alternative" for students who opt out of the class. But the discretion it affords schools was cause for concern for some legislators.
"I am more concerned and scared what (that) alternative looks like," said Senate Minority Assistant Whip Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said he hopes the bill will be a movement toward more personalized instruction and better parental involvement at schools.
"I think that we ought to look at this as something that makes our schools more friendly," Stephenson said. "There are many people today who are fearful that schools are undermining the morality that they are trying to teach their children. To allow parents to have this option is really important."
The bill passed a House vote of 40-31 and a Senate vote of 21-7. It now awaits the governor's signature. Email: mjacobsen@deseretnews.com Twitter: MorganEJacobsen
