Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education School Week topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House OKs limited four-day school-week pilot after amendments
Summary
The Utah House on Feb. 26 passed a bill allowing a geographically limited pilot of a four-day school week, with amendments requiring local approval and safeguards for instructional time and extracurricular scheduling; the measure passed the House 63–6 and now moves to the Senate.
The Utah House of Representatives passed a modified pilot program on Feb. 26 to allow a limited four-day school week in a geographically clustered area of the state.
Representative Thomas Hatch, sponsor of first substitute House Bill 341, said the bill would let the state Office of Education authorize a single pilot area to test whether a four-day schedule can deliver the same quality of instruction as a five-day week. "States may want to see schools in different cities and towns achieve the same level of academic success, but there are different roads to the same destination," Hatch told the House during debate.
Under amendments accepted on the floor and offered by Representative Brown, the measure was changed from mandatory to permissive language for the state office and capped the program as a single pilot in one region. The amendment also requires local school-board approval for participating districts and provides a petition option: if at least 20 percent of parents at a participating school request a vote, the proposal would go to a local vote.
The bill requires participating districts to maintain at least the statutory minimum of instructional hours and sets an evaluation period (the pilot would be evaluated by 2002 under the language discussed on the floor). Sponsors said the bill also prohibits scheduling practices and extracurricular travel that would undermine instructional time during regular school days.
Supporters argued the bill is a cautious, evidence-driven approach. Representative Brown said the safeguards and the single-pilot design would prevent proliferation before results are known. Opponents raised concerns about curricular activities that may involve practice during school hours; sponsors responded that class work for which students receive credit would not be prohibited.
The House approved the amended substitute 63–6, as announced by the presiding officer. The bill will be forwarded to the Senate for further consideration.
The House debate included several friendly amendments and clarifying language to limit the pilot to geographically clustered areas and to require local consent and evaluation; the sponsor and amendment proponents emphasized preserving instructional time and ensuring local control.
