The Legislature's Education Interim Committee discussed a draft of a bill today that would exempt special education students with certain individualized education plans from having to take the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test (UBSCT) to graduate.

The bill also would eliminate so-called alternative diplomas, which are diplomas students get when they don't pass the UBSCT. Alternative diplomas are like regular ones except they note students didn't pass the test. Instead of alternative diplomas, students would get diplomas if they pass the test or certificates of completion if they don't.

The bill would also give students who don't pass the UBSCT but complete all their other graduation requirements the chance to appeal for a regular diploma.

For the bill to become law, the committee would have to first approve the bill. Then, both houses of the Legislature would have to pass it and the governor would have to sign it. If the bill passes, special education students would be exempt from the UBSCT as soon as the governor signs it into law. Alternative diplomas would be eliminated and an appeals system activated Jan. 1, 2009.