This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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 proposal to lessen the criminal penalties for school truancy was defeated after a late addition fell flat in the House.
The bill would have made truancy an infraction on first offense, with the potential of rising to a class C misdemeanor on repeat offenses.
But an additional provision, removing the requirement for homeschooling parents to submit notarized affidavits to their resident school district, led House members who previously supported the bill to flip their vote.
On Wednesday the House voted 39-35 in favor of the bill, without the homeschooling portion.
And last month, the Senate voted 22-5 in favor of an earlier version of the bill that would have removed all criminal penalties for school truancy.
The House and Senate formed a conference committee late Wednesday night to iron out differences between the two chambers' bills. The committee quickly agreed, with one dissenting vote, to include the homeschooling provision at the request of the bill's sponsor.
"It still gives educators the leverage they need when they have inaction from parents," said Lehi Republican Rep. Jacob Anderegg.
But members of the House rejected the compromise, voting 32-39 on Thursday for the amended bill.
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