2015 Legislative Update
When the 2015 Legislative Session began, there were approximately 1,224 Bills requested by lawmakers. At the end of the session, it appears that 528 have passed based on the numbers provided by the Senate. I would like to focus on two Bills that I am aware of that passed during the Legislative Session effecting high school graduation. The first Bill, SB60, requires students graduating after January 1, 2016 pass a basic civics test as a condition for receiving a high school diploma or an adult education secondary diploma. Students must answer 35 out of 50 questions correctly on the exam. The second Bill is SB196 “Math Competency Initiative”, which requires the Utah State Board of Education to establish the mathematics competency standards as a graduation requirement beginning with the 2016-2017 school year. In addition to the requirements set by the Utah State Board of Education, a student shall fulfill one of the following requirements to demonstrate mathematics competency that supports the student’s future college and career goals:
Students pursing a college degree after graduation-Receive a qualifying score for:
- AP calculus or statistics exam,
- International Baccalaureate high level mathematics exam,
- Accuplacer college level math test,
- ACT Mathematics Test, or
- Receive a “C” grade in a concurrent enrollment in quantitate literacy.
For non-college degree seeking students:
- Complete appropriate math competencies for the student’s career goals.
As these requirements are handed down from our Utah Legislators, Garfield School District will be adjusting the schedules and curriculum to align with new Legislative changes.
–Superintendent Ben Dalton
