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Show New laws will affect Utah public education By DONETA GATHERUM SALT LAKE CITY-In addition to education finance bills, this year's session of the state Legislature produced many other significant new laws pertaining to public schools. Here is a brief summary of education edu-cation legislation excluding finance laws. Rep. Richard J. Bradford, R-Salt Lake, sponsored three successful pieces of legislation, HB 158, 170 and 321, requiring some accountability accoun-tability from the public school system. HB 158 requires the state school superintendent to present the governor gov-ernor and Legislature comparative statements of school district appropriations ap-propriations and expenditures. School districts will be required to develop and issue annual performance perfor-mance reports in conformity with HB170. HB 321 requires the development of statewide achievement testing in the public schools by the state board of education. Another accountability law, HB 272, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold S. Jensen, R-Salt Lake, requires local school boards to establish reading remediation programs in elementary elemen-tary and secondary schools. Early graduation programs will be enhanced by SB 129 and SJR 15. Sen. Dix McMullin sponsored SB 129. It will allow early graduation any time between the conclusion of the 1 1th grade and the conclusion of the 1 2th grade. SJR 15, sponsored by Sen. David Steele, R-Davis, requests that the State Board of Education, the State Board of Regents and local school boards consider times and circumstances cir-cumstances allowing students in the public schools to satisfy early graduation requirements. These early graduation programs could help Davis district relieve some of the overcrowding in high schools by moving students through the system faster. The state agreed to help the districts comply with federal CONTINUED ON PG.2 New laws affect Public Education CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 asbestos abatement regulations by appropriating $5 million for this purpose. Rep. Bradford sponsored this legislation. Another Bradford measure, HB 202, will provide for an enrollment option program to allow a student to attend a school or program in a district where the student does not reside. Sen. McMullin sponsored successful suc-cessful legislation that will certify driver education teachers in the public schools as driver license examiners. ex-aminers. At least three significant bills failed to gain Legislative support HB 165, which would have established estab-lished a voter-approved four percent per-cent income "surtax" for local school districts, failed. The Legislature also refused to lengthen the public school terms from 1 80 to 200 days. The perpetual proposal to amend the Utah Constitution to permit a state lottery for education purposes died again for lack of support. |