House approves bill to create statewide teacher exit survey

The Utah House of Representatives on the floor passed House Bill 130, the Public Education Exit Survey measure, sending the bill to the Senate after a 48–24 vote. Sponsor Representative Carol Moss said the bill would require the State Board of Education to develop a model exit survey for local education agencies to use and estimated a one-time development cost of $5,000 and $3,000 annually thereafter.

Supporters framed the bill as a practical, low-cost step to fill a data gap. "You can't manage what you don't measure," Moss said during her remarks, arguing that uniform, statewide data would help policymakers understand why teachers leave and design interventions. Representative Briscoe, citing decades in education, said uniformity would replace dozens of inconsistent local surveys and produced figures she said show teacher retention challenges: "We're keeping 54 percent of teachers after five years; 46 percent leave," she said.

Opponents cautioned about legislative overreach into an authority vested by the state constitution. Representative Thurston argued the State Board of Education already has constitutional responsibility for general control and supervision of public education and suggested the legislature should respect that role rather than prescribe personnel procedures. Thurston urged that, if $8,000 were the obstacle, the legislature could appropriate funds to the Board rather than adopt a statutory mandate.

Members also pressed on follow-up and funding. Representative Potter asked whether the legislature would act on the survey results; Moss said the intent is to gather information the Board would report, which would then be available for legislative review and potential policy changes. Members noted the ongoing appropriation could be revisited after the survey is run.

The House vote was recorded and the bill was transmitted to the Senate for consideration.