This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A pair of bills aimed at updating the state's school-grading law and method for selecting state school board candidates was amended on the way through a House committee on Thursday.
School performance would still be evaluated with a letter grade under the latest version of the grading legislation. But educators wouldn't need to worry about chasing expectations that become more difficult every year.
An earlier version of the bill called for the minimum score at each letter grade level to increase by 2 percent each year. Under the revised bill, those grade levels would jump by 5 percent in years when the majority of schools achieved an "A" or "B" grade.
Those increases would end after the grade breakdown resembled a traditional scale, with a score of 90 percent receiving an "A," 80 percent receiving a "B," and so forth.
"Instead of just coming back and having to adjust this every year, let's put this in statute," said Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, who sponsored the original school-grading law in 2011.
The bill passed the committee with unanimous support, but lawmakers expressed some concern over the reliability of the school-grading system as a measure of school performance.
The grading system has been altered each year since its initial adoption, and Draper Republican Rep. Lavar Christensen suggested the constant tweaking undercuts the accountability of the law.
"We never seem to get a comparative report on last year's great idea when we're reviewing next year's brilliant suggestion," he said.
Christensen also sponsored an amendment to a bill that would revive an embattled method for selecting state school board candidates.
A 2014 court decision invalidated the state's current election law, which relies on a nominating committee to screen candidates and forward names to the governor for placement on the ballot.
The bill, sponsored by Ogden Republican Sen. Ann Millner, attempts to work around the court decision by directing the committee to choose candidates based on objective criteria.
Millner's proposal passed the Senate in early February, but concerns over the practical realities of an objective nominating committee tied the bill up in the House Education Committee.
The committee responded on Thursday by amending the bill to further restrict the qualifications that could be considered when evaluating candidates.
And Christensen amended the bill further by requiring school board candidates to be committed to Utah's public education laws, particularly those specifying that the government's role in education is secondary to the role of a parent.
"These are the polices that are so fundamental," Christensen said.
Because of the changes, the bill would require an additional vote of the Senate if it succeeds in the House.
And Jaycee Skinner, legal counsel for the Utah governor's office, said the amendments make the bill inconsistent with itself, and potentially conflict with the court's ruling.
She said the governor's office believes the easiest solution to the ruling is to create a primary election to narrow the field of school board candidates. A bill to do that has been approved by the House and a Senate committee, and awaits consideration in the full Senate.
Twitter: @bjaminwood