The Joint Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee heard presentations from lawmakers proposing bills to provide incentives for new teachers.

One calls for higher salaries for beginners. Another proposes forgiving tuition costs of people who pursue degrees in special education and agree to teach in Utah schools upon graduation. A third seeks to replenish a program that gave bonuses to math, science and technology teachers. That program was scaled back in recent years.

A recent study from Utah State University concluded that Utah schools will need to hire an additional 1,200 more teachers a year to meet the demands posed by a booming student population. The same study found that 30 percent of new teachers in Utah leave the profession or the state within five years.

Better starting salaries are one way to attract people to the profession and keep them in the state, said Rep. Brad Johnson, R-Aurora.

His House Bill 188 would earmark $22 million for school districts to boost new-teacher starting pay to about $30,000, a figure that is more in line with bordering states' starting pay.

"If you make us more competitive in the marketplace, we can get better teachers," Johnson said.

Rep. Ronda Rudd Menlove is sponsoring House Bill 74, which would reimburse the tuition of students seeking a teaching license in special education. Such teachers have one of the highest attrition rates in Utah and nationwide.