H.B. 145 School Excused Absence Amendments: transcript

Thank you, sir. Uh, thanks Mr. Chair and committee members. Good to be with you. This is the first time I've ever come to this committee, so thank you. We are very welcome. We're glad to have you.

So, uh, HB 1 45 and there will be a sub, uh, that will be presented by one of your committee members in a few minutes. Basically all I'm trying to do, uh, starts, uh, on line 85. Uh, last year I think, uh, we gave excused absences to the Rodeo Club. And, uh, this year I would like to add the mountain biking clubs, the shooting sports clubs, and any youth development program, uh, of Utah State that administers and provides educational experiences in the areas including agriculture, science, technology, engineering, math, uh, civic engagement, leadership, and healthy living through hands-on learning, mentoring, and community-based clubs or activities such as four H or any of those programs where kids can have a hands-on experience. Uh, not everybody's cut out to play football or basketball or wrestle. Uh, some of these kids, uh, these programs, uh, they, they really help these kids grow and develop and, uh, you know, if we can save a student or two here and there, uh, if we just save one, it's worth it, Mr. Chair. And so that's basically the change that I have. Uh, I think there's, uh, maybe some folks online that would like to comment. Mr. Chair.

Part of public comment.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I just have one question. Are these activities, are they supposed to be part of a school shooting and school mountain biking and other stuff? Or can it be like anything, whether it's school, uh, whether it's part of like a school activity or not,

MR. Chair, those would be clubs, uh, in the schools, not necessarily high school activities associated sant.

Okay. So if, if there's a shooting club that is not sponsored by the school, does it, does this count towards that? Or does it have to be like a shooting club that is sponsored by the school? Not U-H-S-A-A, but school sponsored club. I think the substitute might address that. Okay. Well thank you.

Not U-H-S-A-A, but school sponsored club. I think the substitute might address that.

Hey, this is Paul Nemeyer. I'm the head coach of the Wild Goose Scholastic shooting team. We are an affiliate of the Utah Yes program, which stands for, uh, Utah Education and Youth Shooting Sports. They are an affiliate of the National Youth Education shooting sports. And basically, uh, you know, we've got, we just started ours about four years ago. I spent a lot of my own money and whatever trying to, and had a lot of great people help. But we built a gun club and our target was these youth that don't really fit into sports. Now I've got some kids, I've got one, one shooter that's in a wheelchair most of the time. He is got spinal bifida and he's in and out of, uh, wheelchairs and different surgeries and all kinds of stuff. I've got some other kids that've got other health issues. Some of 'em are small, uh, probably not gonna be big enough to do a lot in, in high school sports. And so we have, uh, a really close knit team that started out with a few, and now we've, you know, I've got 30 and some of the clubs up in the Salt Lake area. You've got as high as 80 to 85. We've, we go, the southern region goes from, uh, EFI South and we've got 'em in Ephraim and, uh, Milford and St. George Paul,

Okay. Well anyway, we're providing something for these kids that they're not getting in school because of some of their issues. And out there at the gun club, they learn to shoot. They're part of a team. We have really good, uh, vests and jerseys and, and these kids have, have, you see 'em build their confidence every day because they are part of something that they couldn't have been any other way. And so what we're asking, what I would really like to do is be able to not only get the days off of school, 'cause some of our tournaments, uh, do run from, you know, a few days into the school week. And then the other thing is, hey

Okay. So I'm gonna, anyway, that's our, our deal is we're just providing something that they're not getting anywhere else. And we would love to have 'em be able to, to be excused.

Got timer sent for one minute. From Richfield, Utah. Uh, I coached the Nyka Mountain bike team here in this area for, uh, eight years. I'm the assistant coach now. We've turned it over to a new coach. Uh, we, in our state, we have almost 8,000 kids that race naca mountain biking. Uh, that season goes from June to October. They have, um, usually it's a Friday, Saturday type of a race system. Uh, they do as much as four to five races, so it's not a lot of time off from school, but it would really be nice if we could support having these, uh, excused as a, as a coach and also as a previous athlete in my life. I've played high school sports football in college as well. And, you know, you can do mountain biking your whole life. You can't do football your whole life. I'm attest to that. So I just want to be able to support kids that are doing an alternative sport and, uh, this is something that builds confidence, but also hopefully they can be supported in having excused absences.

Hi, I am Matt Rich. I actually represent the Utah Youth Education Shooting Sports Program. I'm the Vice President for the Utah program. Uh, Paul Nemeyer is one of our coaches in Richfield. Um, we represent 13 teams across the state. We've added two more teams that'll join us next season. Uh, this program started with about seven kids 10 years ago, and we're up to 325 plus right now. Uh, most of our athletes are not true athletes in that regard. They don't play the, the normal sports. Um, baseball, basketball, football, the shooting sports offer something to these other kids that don't necessarily fit in in other places. But our program has a high emphasis on education. It's in our name, it's Utah Youth Education, shooting Sports. We are a, uh, individually accredited, uh, lettering program through the Utah High School Activities Association. So we offer high school letters to our kids through different means. Um, but I just want to try and put them on equal playing field because some of our events do have to cover multiple days because there's so many, there's limited capacity for us. But these kids, I believe, deserve to have an opportunity to, um, pursue these 'cause there is opportunities in higher education to advance as well. So, uh, that's all I've got to say. Thank you for your time.

Um, thank you Madam Chair. I actually had a question for the online folks, so I will Oh, go Ahead. Well, I, I guess my question is, is what happens if you're absent right now? So if you're going to do a shooting, your parent calls in and says, my kid's doing a shooting. Isn't that already excused? Is there someone online with a hand raised that can answer that? Or Representative Albrecht?

I think, uh, Representative Welton is probably correct. If parents called in, wants to excuse 'em, I don't think there's any repercussion by the school.

So it's my understanding this, some of the schools see it, the shooting sports is not an actual sport and sometimes they may or may not approve that, and it in turn affects the kids' grades when they try to turn in late assignments or missed tests. And with the passage of this bill, my understanding is, is that would help alleviate some of that.

So if I may, Madam chair, is that, how do I wanna say this? Is that if the parent excuses it? Or is that based off of the school training? Excuse it. So in other words, is the school not excusing it internally? So like when I take the debate team, we send an excuse out, it goes on the, the, sorry, I I go back to what I know. Um, but when I put that down, it'll, it'll go out as the school excused absence on, on the, the SIS system. Right. Um, a parent could also excuse a kid and then they're just on their parents' time. So I, I, I guess I'm trying to figure out is are we, are we trying to address like a school excused absence where a parent being able to excuse their student for this absence? Does that make sense?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I would like to move the, uh, first sub, uh, to this bill, HB 1 45.

I really would. And I'll just clarify. So actually 50 3G 6 8 0 3 is the code that talks about what an excused absence is. So it's a, um, so it says it's a scheduled family event or a scheduled proactive visit to a healthcare provider. If the parent submits a written statement of at least one school day before the scheduled absence, and the student agrees to make up coursework, or it is an illness, whether it be mental or physical, a mental behavioral health of the school age child, a family death, an approved school activity, an absence permitted by a school age child's parent, um, or sorry, an absence permitted by a school age child's individualized, EIP or 5 0 4, not parent competition in a rodeo sanctioned by an international nonprofit, an absence permitted in accordance with this section or any other excuse established as valid by a local school, school board, charter board, or governing board. So the, the piece in there is an improved school activity. So what the gentleman I think online was saying was, well, if the school approves it as an activity, then it could be an excused absence, but otherwise the parent's going to have to try to fit it into some other, um, excused absence that's currently in code. And these are not other things that are included. Right. And so to that end, the substitute, and, and I just wanna be really clear that there's good data on this. There's multiple studies, longitudinal studies that show that it's called the twice as Harmful rule. So, uh, an unexcused absence is twice as harmful to standardized test scores as an excused absence. And so when we're bifurcating those out and correlating them, it's really important to distinguish the difference. And generally, if a child has that baseline GPA and a parent is choosing to excuse them, then that should be an excused absence in the state of Utah. So that's what the sub does. It just says, any reason a parent provides to justify the school age child's absence and the child has that GPA, um, of at least 2.0, then they can participate in the events that Representative Albrecht has an outline in the bill or any other event that the parent decides. And that's what the sub does.

Uh, Mr. Chair. I think it's a good substitute and uh, I would encourage you to adopt Adopt It.

Seeing none, back to the maker of the motion. I'll waive.

Thank you. I would move that we favorably recommend HB 1 45 first substitute.

Would you like to speak to that motion? I'll waive.

I just think if we can save one kid, we're doing the right thing. And a lot of these kids need to get out in the world, touch the grass, as the governor says, and, uh, get involved in some of these things if they can't participate in high skilled sanctioned sports. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair and committee. It's good to be with you. Uh, I don't normally get into this committee. In fact, this is the first education bill I've run in 10 years, so I appreciate meeting with you. You know, not every student, uh, can play basketball or f baseball or football or, uh, cheer cheerlead or, uh, run track or whatever that sport might be. And so there's other things that they can get involved with that they're really good at, and they excel there. For example, in Utah right now, there are 15, uh, mountain biking clubs in the state. There's 325 kids who are involved in shooting sports and who knows how many involved in four H projects or, uh, projects through Utah State, uh, that involve, you know, agriculture or engineering or math or civic engagement, uh, leadership type, uh, programs. And so, you know, the governor's come out and said, we need to, and there's a lot of bills run this year on, you know, bell to be and, and personal devices. And kids just need to get away from, uh, watching the TV and playing video games. And, uh, you know, if, if we, if we can get them involved in something that they really like, that they can excel in. I know down in my area, we've got a, a mountain bike team. We've got a shooting, uh, team, and they go, uh, all over the state, even outta state. Uh, and, and they do well and they've been recognized. Uh, so if, if we can save just one, just one student, one kid from, uh, hurting themselves or suicide or whatever the case might be, and we have a lot of that, then this program is worth it. So what the bill does, uh, Mr. Chair is that it, it, it provides an excused absence for those activities if they maintain a 2.0 grade point average. And that's the bill. Mr. Chair.

So my name is Maya Cobbley and I'm currently a junior at Juab up Juab Juab Up High School. Um, I am in strong favor of this bill, uh, as a student. I am incredibly involved. I'm involved with F-F-A-N-H-S band, um, poetry Club, government, and many other things. But those are not the only activities we have. And being able to have those outlets not only relieves some of the stress that students have at school, but also from their home lives. Um, a lot of students, specifically in rural towns like Mona and Nephi, they have troubled homes and school and their extracurriculars are their only escape from those. Um, recently we have, today actually is the anniversary of one of our students' suicides. And that student didn't feel seen by our school. They didn't have an outlet, um, but their siblings have found that outlet through the band and through orchestra. And being able to go to those performances and get an excused absence provides them with relief from their mental capacity, stress. And, um, so I encourage you to vote in favor of this bill. Thank you. Thank You.

Gail Ika with Utah Eagle Forum. And I, I, what I have to say, couldn't compete with the last speaker. I think what she said was so great, but I like the idea that it talks about, you know, pa the parents' responsibility and the parents, uh, uh, giving the parents the right to make those decisions and, and, and have their children, uh, have other activities to actually say that they can do something besides sports at the school. I, I like everything about this bill. So please, uh, say vote yes on this bill.

Go ahead. Hello, I'm Jennifer Partridge. I'm president of the school board in Provo, and I'm here representing our board today. Um, we agree completely with all these wonderful benefits of these activities and love having our students involved in activities. Um, but I am here to say that this bill is not necessary. I appreciate the intent, but we already can excuse anything that we want to excuse as districts parents can excuse anything that they want to excuse. Um, and a district can make their own policy on this if they do not already have one. I know in Provo, we, we already support our mountain biking team and, and all of those kinds of things, but when it becomes a state law, then it affects, um, the policies that every district has to address. Even if we already have a policy, we have to go back through it and sometimes adjust the wording to fit with the code. Um, and in a time where our district right now is trying to cut money from our budget to be responsible with our, our, um, to our taxpayers and things, at the same time I'm having a conversation with our superintendent of, do we need to hire someone to help you? Because all the policies are becoming a burden taking you away from your role as the instructional leader. Um, and so I would just encourage you that this is not necessary. Thank you.

Go ahead. Good afternoon, Ben Horsley, superintendent Granite School District. I'd also like to speak to the, I I appreciate the, the comments that have been shared and the intent of the bill, but I also would deem it as unnecessary. And I would point out that, uh, I, I meet with principals. I got one of 'em back here right now. Wave your hand there, Kyle. Um, that's one of our Excel winners. He's an amazing principal at West Cris Elementary, and I was just visiting his school, coincidentally just yesterday, and talking about trying to improve and enhance attendance. If you miss just two days of school every month for an entire school year, for your entire school career, you will have missed an entire year of school. It's really hard to place requirements and, uh, increased burdens upon our teachers for outcomes and for our schools for outcomes when the one thing we don't have the control over is making sure those kids are in those seats. And so we want to engage with parents. We will continue to engage with parents for valid uh, reasons and rationale for absences. And I would therefore deem this, this legislation unnecessary and that allow us to have local control to be able to make decisions that are in the best interest of our, our populations. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm in favor of this bill, but also I would like to know if we could change on line 83, it says a grade point average of at least 2.0 coming from school myself, that was pretty hard to get 2.0. So I would, was wondering if we could change that to a 1.0?

I would not be in favor of that. Senator.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I know we're all laughing about that 1.0, but, um, you know, when I think about kids that are struggling, and I think about kids that really need to show up to school sometimes the only reason they're showing up to school is to play sports. Uh, I, I, I did, uh, I have personal experience with this 2.0 and, uh, I know that it was crushing for some of the friends and families that I've had that had to leave their sports because they weren't at a 2.0. And, uh, when we think about two, uh, uh, superintendent Horsley's point, having kids in school is so important. And if the, really, the only reason they're showing up is to play sports, that's way better than them not being there at all. So, uh, I understand why we wouldn't lower that, but, uh, I do find some, um, I find some, I find some difficulty with the hard steady 2.0. It should be up to a parent's discretion. Uh, for the people that I've spoken to in my own personal experience, sometimes kids go through a hard time and their GPA dips and we need to rally around them and help them, and kicking them off of their sports doesn't help. It makes it worse. So I think that it should be parents' discretion, whether you want your kid to be playing a sport if they're at a 2.0 or below. And, um, I, I just wanted to say that. So thank you.

I move that we pass out with a favorable recommendation House Bill One, is it, sorry, 1 45. First substitute house bill 1 45 to the full body of the Senate.

Thank you Mr. Speaker, pro tem colleagues, if you know me, you know, I don't run education bills. Uh, I spend most of my time with energy and natural resources. I, I dawned the graces of the education committee this year for the first time in 10 years. But I, I have a bill here that, uh, I think you'll like, uh, some may not last year or the year before we, we approved a, an excused absence for those who participate in rodeo this year. I would like to expand that to, uh, students who, if they maintain a 2.0 grade point average and participate in the following clubs, they can be eligible for an excused absence. Those clubs are mountain biking, shooting sports, or a youth development program through Utah State such as four H, engineering, math, stem, civic engagement, those types of programs. I think our kids nowadays need to get out and about and not stay in front of the TV or on their personal devices. I think not every kid can play softball, basketball, wrestling, track, uh, football. Some of 'em are smaller and don't make the team. Some of 'em can really ride a bike fast. Some of them can really shoot a gun straight and, uh, some of 'em may train a steer for the auction or the county fair. Those are the kind of activities that I think would get kids out and about and away from their personal devices. And if we can save just one kid by doing this, I think it's worth it. Mr. Speaker Pro Tem, that's basically what the bill does. Um, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just rise today in, uh, strong support of this bill. I look at Mr. Speaker the, the challenge that a lot of young people have in connecting to school today and any, any policy that we can pass that helps kids find purpose in, in their educational experience and gives them another reason to be more successful in school is, is a good policy that we all should support. So I just encourage all my colleagues, uh, to vote yes on this bill.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Will the sponsor yield to a question? Will the sponsor yield If I can hear? Go ahead. Yes. Thank you Mr. Speaker Protime, do you have to go to school to get a 2.0?

You have to maintain a 2.0 grade average, whether you're doing homeschooling or whether you're doing school in public schools or charter schools.

Yeah, I just wanna make sure that we're not setting the bar too high now. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker ProAm. I might just mention that there's 15 Utah mountain biking teams, uh, in, in the state of Utah, and there's 325 kids that participate in shooting sports and a number I can't, uh, acquire the kids that involved in four H and those kinds of programs. I think it's a good bill and I would encourage your support. Thank you.

Senator Spery Lewin Brammer Bus Cullimore Escamia Fillmore Rover Aye. Harper Hankins Ipson Johnson. Juab McKay. Mikel Milner Musselman Owens Pitcher Plum Rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton Vickers Weiler Wilson Aye. Winterton Aye. President Adams, um, no. Aye.