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Utah House approves bill to promote competency-based education pilot funding after heated floor debate
Summary
After spirited debate over funding and implementation, the Utah House passed House Bill 3 93 to encourage locally designed competency-based education programs and authorize state-board rulemaking on funding models; the measure passed 43-26 and will go to the Senate.
The Utah House passed House Bill 3 93 on March 7, 2013, advancing a measure that urges local school boards and charter schools to explore competency-based education programs and asks the State Board of Education to consider rulemaking for funding models. Representative Hughes, the bill sponsor, said the bill “does not dictate, require, [or] mandate” implementation and is intended to “encourage standards that may exceed, but certainly not replace, our current core curriculum.”
Supporters described the bill as a way to let students who demonstrate mastery move ahead without being constrained by ‘‘seat time,’’ and urged flexibility for locally elected school boards to pilot programs. Representative Layton said the change could reduce unnecessary seat time and give “a lifelong learner” a path to move forward sooner; Representative McKiff framed the idea as a continuation of a decade-long conversation about competency-based education.
Opponents raised practical concerns about costs, teacher workload and assessment reliability. Representative Mauss warned that broader implementation “requires individualized instruction” and said states that have pursued similar models have faced high expense. Several members, including Representative Paulson and Representative Briscoe, asked how funding would be handled for teachers and districts if some portion of state funding were withheld until competency was demonstrated.
Sponsor Hughes acknowledged funding questions and referenced a fiscal-note estimate discussed on the floor, saying, “When you see a fiscal note of $75,000,000 for 13,000 plus kids, we are going to take, of the kind of surplus we have, a lion’s share of it.” He reiterated that the bill is not prescriptive and could be amended to require full upfront funding if the House preferred that approach.
The House adopted Amendment No. 1 under Representative Hughes’s name to remove references to ‘‘curriculum’’ and clarify that the bill focuses on education programs and subject-mastery approaches, and the amendment passed without recorded opposition. After extended debate and multiple rounds of questioning, the House voted 43 yes and 26 no to pass the bill; it will be sent to the Senate for consideration.
Next steps: the measure now awaits action in the Utah Senate, where sponsor amendments, fiscal analysis and any proposed changes to the funding mechanism will be considered.
