Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 38 (2015GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Osmond, A.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/26/2015

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• eliminates references to behavioral testing or tracking in public schools; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

BEHAVIORAL TESTING AND TRACKING RESTRICTIONS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Aaron Osmond
House Sponsor: 
Francis D. Gibson
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends certain provisions in code with references to behavioral testing and
tracking.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ eliminates references to behavioral testing or tracking in public schools; and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53A-1-410
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 372
53A-1-602
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 161
53A-1-605
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 11
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
53A-1-410
 is amended to read:
53A-1-410.
Utah Futures.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Education provider" means:
(i) a Utah institution of higher education as defined in Section 
53B-2-101
; or
(ii) a Utah provider of postsecondary education.
(b) "Student user" means:
(i) a Utah student in kindergarten through grade 12;
(ii) a Utah post secondary education student;
(iii) a parent or guardian of a Utah public education student; or
(iv) a Utah potential post secondary education student.
(c) "Utah Futures" means a career planning program developed and administered by
the Department of Workforce Services, the State Board of Regents, and the State Board of
Education.
(d) "Utah Futures Steering Committee" means a committee of members designated by
the governor to administer and manage Utah Futures in collaboration with the Department of
Workforce Services, the State Board of Regents, and the State Board of Education.
(2) The Utah Futures Steering Committee shall ensure, as funding allows and is
feasible, that Utah Futures will:
(a) allow a student user to:
(i) access the student user's full academic record;
(ii) electronically allow the student user to give access to the student user's academic
record and related information to an education provider as allowed by law;
(iii) access information about different career opportunities and understand the related
educational requirements to enter that career;
(iv) access information about education providers;
(v) access up to date information about entrance requirements to education providers;
(vi) apply for entrance to multiple schools without having to fully replicate the
application process;
(vii) apply for loans, scholarships, or grants from multiple education providers in one
location without having to fully replicate the application process for multiple education
providers; and
(viii) research open jobs from different companies within the user's career interest and
apply for those jobs without having to leave the website to do so;
(b) allow all users to:
(i) access information about different career opportunities and understand the related
educational requirements to enter that career;
(ii) access information about education providers;
(iii) access up-to-date information about entrance requirements to education providers;
(iv) apply for entrance to multiple schools without having to fully replicate the
application process;
(v) apply for loans, scholarships, or grants from multiple education providers in one
location without having to fully replicate the application process for multiple education
providers; and
(vi) research open jobs from different companies within the user's career interest and
apply for those jobs without having to leave the website to do so;
(c) allow an education provider to:
(i) research and find student users who are interested in various educational outcomes;
(ii) promote the education provider's programs and schools to student users; and
(iii) connect with student users within the Utah Futures website;
(d) allow a Utah business to:
(i) research and find student users who are pursuing educational outcomes that are
consistent with jobs the Utah business is trying to fill now or in the future; and
(ii) market jobs and communicate with student users through the Utah Futures website
as allowed by law;
(e) allow the Department of Workforce Services to analyze and report on student user
interests[
,
] 
and
 education paths[
, and behaviors
] within the education system [
so as to
predictively determine appropriate career and educational outcomes and results
]; and
(f) allow all users of the Utah Futures' system to communicate and interact through
social networking tools within the Utah Futures website as allowed by law.
(3) On or before October 1, 2014, the State Board of Education, after consulting with
the Board of Business and Economic Development created in Section 
63M-1-301
, may select a
technology provider, through a request for proposals process, to provide technology and
support for Utah Futures.
(4) In evaluating proposals under Subsection (3) in consultation with the Board of
Business and Economic Development, the State Board of Education shall ensure that the
technology provided by a proposer:
(a) allows Utah Futures to license the selected service oriented architecture
technologies;
(b) allows Utah Futures to protect all user data within the system by leveraging role
architecture;
(c) allows Utah Futures to update the user interface, APIs, and web services software
layers as needed;
(d) provides the ability for a student user to have a secure profile and login to access
and to store personal information related to the services listed in Subsection (2) via the
Internet;
(e) protects all user data within Utah Futures;
(f) allows the State Board of Education to license the technology of the selected
technology provider; and
(g) provides technology able to support application programming interfaces to integrate
technology of other third party providers, which may include cloud-based technology.
(5) (a) On or before August 1, 2014, the evaluation panel described in Subsection
(5)(b), using the criteria described in Subsection (5)(c), shall evaluate Utah Futures and
determine whether any or all components of Utah Futures, as described in this section, should
be outsourced to a private provider or built in-house by the participating state agencies.
(b) The evaluation panel described in Subsection (5)(a) shall consist of the following
members, appointed by the governor after consulting with the State Board of Education:
(i) five members who represent business, including:
(A) one member who has extensive knowledge and experience in information
technology; and
(B) one member who has extensive knowledge and experience in human resources;
(ii) one member who is a user of the information provided by Utah Futures;
(iii) one member who is a parent of a student who uses Utah Futures;
(iv) one member who:
(A) is an educator as defined in Section 
53A-6-103
; and
(B) teaches students who use Utah Futures; and
(v) one member who is a high school counselor licensed under Title 53A, Chapter 6,
Educator Licensing and Professional Practices Act.
(c) The evaluation panel described in Subsections (5)(a) and (b) shall consider at least
the following criteria to make the determination described in Subsection (5)(a):
(i) the complete functional capabilities of a private technology provider versus an
in-house version;
(ii) the cost of purchasing privately developed technology versus continuing to develop
or build an in-house version;
(iii) the data and security capabilities of a private technology provider versus an
in-house version;
(iv) the time frames to implementation; and
(v) the best practices and examples of other states who have implemented a tool similar
to Utah Futures.
(d) On or before September 30, 2014, the evaluation panel shall report the
determination to:
(i) the State Board of Education;
(ii) the Executive Appropriations Committee; and
(iii) the Education Interim Committee.
Section 2. Section 
53A-1-602
 is amended to read:
53A-1-602.
Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Basic skills course" means a subject which requires mastery of specific functions,
as defined under rules made by the State Board of Education, to include reading, language arts,
mathematics, science in grades 4 through 12, and effectiveness of written expression.
(2) "IEP" means a written statement for a student with a disability that is developed,
reviewed, and revised in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20
U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.
(3) "Utah's common core" means the core set of English language arts and mathematics
standards developed and adopted by the State Board of Education which define the knowledge
and skills students should have in kindergarten through grade 12 to enable them to be prepared
for college or workforce training.
(4) "Utah Performance Assessment System for Students" or "U-PASS" means:
(a) as determined by the State Board of Education, criterion-referenced achievement
testing or online computer adaptive testing of students in grades 3 through 12 in basic skills
courses;
(b) an online writing assessment in grades 5 and 8;
(c) college readiness assessments as detailed in Section 
53A-1-611
; 
and
[
(d) the use of student behavior indicators in assessing student performance; and
]
[
(e)
] 
(d)
 testing of students in grade 3 to measure reading grade level.
Section 3. Section 
53A-1-605
 is amended to read:
53A-1-605.
Analysis of results -- Staff professional development.
(1) The State Board of Education, through the state superintendent of public
instruction, shall develop a plan to analyze the results of the U-PASS scores for all grade levels
and courses required under Section 
53A-1-603
 [
and the student behavior indicators referred to
in Section 
53A-1-602
].
(2) The plan shall include components designed to:
(a) assist school districts and individual schools to use the results of the analysis in
planning, evaluating, and enhancing programs; and
(b) identify schools not achieving state-established acceptable levels of student
performance in order to assist those schools in raising their student performance levels.
(3) The plan shall include provisions for statistical reporting of criterion-referenced or
online computer adaptive test results at state, school district, school, and grade or course levels,
and shall include actual levels of performance on tests.
(4) Each local school board and charter school governing board shall provide for:
(a) evaluation of the U-PASS test results and use of the evaluations in setting goals and
establishing programs; and
(b) a professional development program that provides teachers, principals, and other
professional staff with the training required to successfully establish and maintain U-PASS.