S.B. 169 High School Graduation Amendments: transcript

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the committee and all those who gather to be a part of the process. I'm hopeful that this will be a pretty simple bill, uh, to run by. You said no one ever. Right. But I am actually hopeful for that. This is a bill that came out of discussions with multiple stakeholders, uh, on a bill I was working on to try to figure out how we could remove barriers for students with housing instability. And it came up in the conversation that there were spaces or school districts that were not allowing some students to participate in graduation ceremonies. And there were different reasons for this. Some would perhaps cite that they were a bit older student, or some would cite that. Well, they had been, uh, an online student, so they didn't really have a connection with the graduating class. And it, it, frankly, it broke my heart. 'cause here I am 50 something years old, and I can still think back to the day I graduate. I can picture the white cap and gown and my two best friends who are also named Jen on each of my sides, and my nana and my dad, both of whom are gone. And I could picture that. And so I just felt like, yeah, well, Careful, careful. They were, oh boy, I could go down a whole line that way. But, uh, they weren't quite Polaroid snaps the things, but yeah, it was all along the lines and, yeah, no color. I'm gonna bring you a copy for your desk now. But there was, you know, this, this like hallmark moment that happens when one graduates from high school. And so I just thought it was important in this changing time where what someone's progress through the educational system in high school looks like to get to graduation often does look different. Sometimes it means a couple different schools. Sometimes it means an online education or pieces of an online education. Sometimes it, you know, it doesn't look like what I remember it to have looked like with all the kids that I'd known since kindergarten. And so this bill really is simple. It, it requires that LEAs let students participate in graduation activities. Uh, if the, if the LEA is rewarding a diploma to the student, that means including the students from the LEAs online program, um, whether that's graduation, commencements ceremonies, honor ceremonies, that they let them participate. Now, clearly, I don't want this to be a safety issue. So if there are significant safety concerns, there is an out for that that is written in there and, uh, in some kind of minimum standards for graduation pieces that we may have across the state that this is included in that piece. So it, it's pretty simple, but I think potentially pretty impactful. Some for some students. And that's it. That concludes your presentation. It does. I apologies if I didn't bring enough. Thank you. Uh, I had some bill summaries from LRGC and I didn't, I didn't print enough.

On? No, I got my answer.

Actually, second Thought out of another question. Ah. Um, so typically, I mean, at charter schools, I guess is different where the school and the LEA are the same thing, but, uh, Salt Lake School District doesn't hold the Salt Lake School District graduation. They hold the East High School graduation, certainly. Sure. So if, uh, I don't know if Salt Lake has an online program. Jordan does. So I'll use Jordan. Um, I think Jordan has seven high schools. Okay. Plus an online high school. Um, and I don't know, maybe they hold a graduation ceremony for the online high school, but under this bill, if a student even wa just wanted to walk, would they pick a school to, to walk in or,

That's a fascinating question. And, and knowing that my more surface level understanding of what those org charts look like within the different districts and schools, um, perhaps that's something I need to consider adding in. If a school, uh, a totally online school has no graduation ceremony, it's not something I had considered.

Okay. And I'm open to any thoughts that you might think would make that smarter.

Well, I mean, I don't, I don't know. I don't imagine it'd be that big of a deal. I'm sure if a kid is like, look, I don't go to your school 'cause I'm in the online program, but you're, I live in your boundaries. Could I walk, walk, walk, and you'll hand me a diploma? I mean, I would think the Prince would be like, you know, yeah, we'll probably make that work. They're some logistics to work out. But I think for the most part, they'd make that work at, at some level. I wonder are, are they already doing this? Or do online schools just hold their own graduation ceremonies? And I think there's some variety is what I gathered from, you know, the conversations that I had with folks. There's some variety. So a little standardization, I think, in a, in a situation like this, does help.

Sorry. Perfect. My name is Mike Carmen and I work with Salt Lake, with kids in Salt Lake City School District that are experiencing homelessness. And we do see occasionally where kids are having to move from district to district. And the requirements sometimes are, are different when they enter, enter a new district, especially if they enter as a senior. And so there are situations where kids enter a district, like in, in Salt Lake is 24 credits. Somewhere else might be 27. And then they don't meet that 27, they're not allowed to walk. So I think that what I, my understanding of this bill is what allow them, if they meet that state minimum requirement to participate in graduation. So many, so it's, Senator Plumb said it's a huge deal to, to graduate, and a lot of our kids who are experiencing homelessness sometimes are challenged by that. And so if they get that 24, we wanna be able to make sure they can walk at graduation. Thanks. Thank you.

Ahead. State your name for the record And My name is Tiana McCall. I'm a licensed clinical social worker and a school social worker. Um, and I support SB 1 69 because it recognizes graduation as a critical milestone that's tied to student belonging, dignity, and wellbeing. This bill ensures that students who have met graduation requirements, including those in alternative programs or online programs, are not excluded from these ceremonies absent any sort of legitimate safety concern. Um, participation in these ceremonies is not just symbolic. It affirms persistence, resilience, and connection to school communities, which are especially important for students who have navigated non-traditional or other challenging circumstances. Thank you.

Okay. My name is Shannon Lee Ez. I'm also a licensed clinical social worker. I'm a former homeless liaison for a Salt Lake County School District, and I am the education advisor for the Salt Lake County Coalition to End Homelessness. Um, and I also support this bill, um, on behalf of young people experiencing homelessness. Um, I'd just like to share a story with you if I can. Um, I had a young woman in one of my first years working as a homeless liaison, come to me at the end of the school year. And she had had a pretty rough senior year. She was living in, um, a camper trailer. She was responsible for taking care of her younger siblings and often, um, responsible for helping to find food for them. And, uh, she wrote me a letter and invited me to her high school graduation. And it was this moment of, it was, she had so much pride about, uh, it kind of makes me emotional. She had so much pride for the hard work that she put into achieve this huge accomplishment, um, that otherwise could have been really difficult for her. She could have given up, um, she could have gone to work so that she could support her family, but she stuck with, uh, her schooling and she wanted to become a teacher. Um, and so for these kids that sometimes, as Mike Carmen mentioned, um, have to get this state diploma, we want to encourage them to celebrate their accomplishments. And, um, some, they don't always have those opportunities. And I'm, I'm really excited about this bill because it, um, can help encourage their self-worth. It can also help them to move on from high school and, and feel motivated and capable of pursuing higher education and other, uh, professional opportunities. Thank you.

Favorable recommendation.

I would waive and, and thank you very much for the time.

uh, homelessness Fellowship that I did. And, and in talking when I came back with the school systems, there was noted to be a piece where some students were not being allowed to participate in the actual graduation ceremony and there was some lacking thought about whether or not, or clarity, I guess, is not thought about whether or not a student should be allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies. Sometimes this was because someone had done online schooling. And so there there was a thought that maybe since they didn't have a physical relationship there, sometimes it was that they had gone from one school to another school. And this bill essentially says that, um, barring that there's any sort of a security concern that students shall be allowed to walk in the graduation ceremonies from the institution that is granting them their diploma. And it's as simple as that.

It certainly does. I'm open to any

Uh, thank you. I would waive summation and call the question.

Thank you. Motion. I Would you call that again? I Motion to Uncer Senate bill 2 25.

Again, this bill is a fairly simple small bill that allows a pathway for students to attend graduation and participate in graduation ceremonies when they've had a somewhat atypical path to graduation. Simple as that. Thank you for that presentation.

I would call the question please

Senator Vickers Baldy Aye. Lewin b Bramer Bus Colmore Ms. Camilla Fillmore Row. Rober Harper Aye. Hankins Aye. Ipson Aye. Johnson Juab McKay. Mikel Aye. Milner Aye. Musselman Owens Pitcher Plum Rebi Sandal Stevenson Stratton Bickers Weiler Wilson Winterton. President Adams