Admoneo: HB 151 Held in Committee for the Rest of the Session

Purpose Statement

Ad mo ne o - Latin, verb. To admonish, advise, urge.

Here you'll find a review of what's happening in Utah government - state, counties, school boards, & cities, with a focus on education - as well as what Utah's U.S. Congressmen and Senators are doing. You'll get my take on it, find links to other sources of information, and find suggestions and contact info so you can DO something. Being involved in local government is key to maintaining freedom. Find something you can do and, no matter how small, DO IT! As British philosopher Edmund Burke said, "No man made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little."

Saturday, March 2, 2013

HB 151 Held in Committee for the Rest of the Session

The second hearing on HB 151, "Chronic Absenteeism Amendments," did not take place. It was pulled from the agenda in the morning. It will not be back this session.

Thank you to all who wrote and called the members of the House Education Committee. And thank you to the committee for responding to the many concerns surrounding this bill.

There is certainly a place for efforts to reach out to truant students, to find ways to mentor and motivate them to attend their classes. There are good programs run by non-profits that have produced some inspiring success stories, and it would be great to see Utah non-profits involved in this type of work. Perhaps some already are - I'd love to hear from those who know what programs may already be in operation.

But a state-wide focus on absence of any kind - rather than truancy (being absent without parental permission) - will do more harm than good. An effort to reduce all absences - rather than focusing on unexcused ones - would entangle all sorts of kids who are not in any kind of trouble, and reduce the rights and influence of parents. A state-wide solution also is not close enough to the problem to have the most impact.

The Utah School Boards Association (USBA) stated it well when they decided on Friday not to support or oppose HB 151, because attendance is a local issue:

"We know that attendance is tied directly to graduation and school success and we appreciate the focus of this discussion, however, the state will be ineffective in trying to create one attendance policy for all. Local boards are elected officers and they can better understand local data and reflect the will of their local communities in such policies."

What You Can Do:

Email the members of the House Education Committee and thank them for holding the bill.

Francis Gibson<fgibson@le.utah.gov>

V. Lowry Snow<vlsnow@le.utah.gov>

Patrice Arent<parent@le.utah.gov>

Rich Cunningham<rcunningham@le.utah.gov>

Steve Eliason<seliason@le.utah.gov>

Gregory Hughes<greghughes@le.utah.gov>

Bradley G. Last<blast@le.utah.gov>

David Lifferth<dlifferth@le.utah.gov>

Daniel McCay<dmccay@le.utah.gov>

Carol Spackman Moss<csmoss@le.utah.gov>