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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Two Republican legislators are crafting vastly different education bills that would alter how many students graduate with a diploma each year, with one seeking to boost diploma numbers while the other prefers to offer more certificates of completion.
Students who take the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test's reading, math and writing exams can receive a high school diploma, but with a note on it saying they didn't pass the test. Those who pass the test receive a diploma saying they did so.
But some lawmakers don't like that concept.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said the law is intended to be all or nothing under the U-PASS school accountability law, which he sponsored in 2000.
Stephenson wants to make it so that students either pass the test and receive a diploma or get a certificate of completion. Those receiving certificates could keep taking the UBSCT after they've left high school to get a full diploma.
His proposal would mean as many as 3,700 students in the class of 2006 would have received certificates of completion instead of diplomas, according a spring report from the state Office of Education.
Just under 1,900 of those students had disabilities, and 1,185 had limited English skills. Some students fit both categories.
"This is tough love," Stephenson said. "We intend for students to be competent when they receive a Utah high school diploma, that a Utah high school diploma actually indicates a level of academic performance and possession of basic skills."
But Carol Lear, director of school law and legislation for the state Office of Education, said the state has problems with the idea of letting adults come into a public school to take the test during the day with students.
Instead, the state education office has been working with Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, on another bill.
It would create an appeals process for students with disabilities, who are learning English and those who don't test well.
Students could show they have basic skills by passing a college entrance test while English language learners could show improvement on an alternative test. Special education students could show they've met requirements of their individualized education plan under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Holdaway said.
"I think there's been value in having the UBSCT there. I think it's giving more accountability, putting names of individual students in front of teachers and administrators and saying, hey, we need a little more attention," Holdaway said.
But, he added, "We need to do better. ... Every other state in the country that has high-stakes testing ... has an appeals process. We don't have that."
Holdaway and Stephenson have not talked to each other about their proposals.
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Information from: Deseret Morning News www.deseretnews.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
