UPDATES

02.10.2009

2009 Legislative Priorities

In this section...

The 2009 General Session ended on Thursday, March 12th at midnight. During the 45-day session, members of the Utah State Legislature voted on a host of bills affecting K-12 education. As always, Parents for Choice in Education worked with legislators and other advocates to make sure your voice was heard at the State Capitol.

Below is a list of our legislative principles and specific bills that we supported in 2009 along with their final status and vote count. 

If any of these issues are important to you, we strongly encourage you to contact your legislators to either thank them for their support or to ask them to reconsider their vote.  Remember to be respectful in all of your communitcations with elected officials.

Legislative Principles

Increasing Choice

We support policies that increase education options. We oppose those that don’t. Providing families with multiple options allows them to choose the programs that best serve their child’s individual needs. Choice in education increases accountability and improves the overall quality of our education system.

Policies Supported: Charter Schools, Open Enrollment, Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship, Virtual Schools, Home Schooling, Empowerment Schools (site-based management), Concurrent Enrollment, Dual Enrollment

Empowering Parents
Parents have the right to demand for their children the best our schools can provide. It is both their right and responsibility to steer the direction of their child’s education; therefore, parents must have a seat at the table alongside educators and administrators in making meaningful education decisions. We support policies that empower parents with a voice in the decisions that impact their child’s education.

Policies Supported: School Community Councils, Empowerment Schools (site-based management), Charter Schools, School Parent Organization Options, Ability to Form Smaller Districts

Transparency
Transparency is necessary for democratic accountability and enables policymakers, voters, and parents to make informed decisions regarding K-12 education. Policymakers need transparency to understand the impact of public policy. Citizens need transparency to hold officials accountable for how their tax dollars are spent.

Policies Supported: Financial Transparency/Open-checkbook, Simplified Funding Mechanisms, Backpack/Weighted-Student Funding, Sunshine Laws

Efficiency in Funding
As Utah faces declining tax revenues accompanied by a projected long-term increase in student population, it is imperative that policies be put in place to use tax dollars more efficiently and effectively. This requires streamlining Utah’s complicated funding system. Budgets should be created from the bottom-up (rather than the top-down), providing schools the flexibility to innovate and adjust to local needs. Education dollars belong in the classroom and should follow the student.

Policies Supported: Backpack/Weighted-Student Funding, Simplified Funding Mechanisms, Empowerment Schools, Concurrent Enrollment and Early College Credit, Accountability for percentage of funding going directly into the classroom.

Quality Instruction
Teacher quality is one of the most important factors influencing student achievement. As such, teachers should be compensated as professionals with salaries based on their effectiveness and the demand for their individual expertise. We support policies that reward and recognize teachers for excellence and individual student gains. Such polices put teachers in control of their own compensation. Alternative routes to licensure should be used to attract other highly qualified professionals into the classroom. To prepare students for future employment, Utah’s K-12 programs and curriculum must keep pace with a 21st century global economy.

Policies Supported: Performance/Merit Pay, Differential Pay, Alternative Teacher Certification, Alternative Routes to Licensure, Equal Access by Professional Teacher Associations, Math Initiative

Supported 2009 Legislation

This chart has been designed to be very interactive. Please click in the
fields below for complete details and to be sent directly to their sources.
(i.e. the bill's homepage, the sponsor's information, news articles and more)

To stay informed on K-12 issues in the 2009 Legislative Session, visit www.UtahEducationFacts.com/session regularly.

Contact Your Legislator

Call During the Session

During the Legislative Session, you can have a message sent directly to your state legislator by calling the clerk's office of either chamber:

Links to Your Elected Officials' Contact Info:

Find out who your Legislators are...

Why contact elected officials at the state and local levels?

Most of the decisions that affect Utah's education system and your neighborhood public schools are made by elected officials at the state and local levels.  Since less than 10% of the funding for Utah's public schools comes from the federal government, federal politicians (like your U.S. Senator and Representative in the U.S. Congress) have little influence over the policies affecting Utah schools.

Since state and local officials represent much fewer voters than federal politicians, your contact with them will have much more influence on their decision-making. With so much attention being paid to national politics, many state and local officials rarely hear from the people they represent. It only takes a few phone calls or letters concerning the same topic to grab a local politician's attention.

How to contact elected officials

Elected officials know they need your vote to stay in office. So the first thing you should do when contacting an elected official is let them know that you are one of their constituents, which means that you live in the political district that they represent. Don't be intimidated by your elected officials. Remember, they work for you.

The most effective forms of communication with an elected official are a face-to-face visit, a phone call, or a letter. Each of these are personal and show that you care enough about the issue to take time out of your busy schedule.

Emails can be effective, too, especially once the elected official knows who you are. If you decide to email an elected official who doesn't know you personally, be sure to indicate in the subject line of your email that you are one their constituents. They will be much more likely to read the email and respond to you.

No matter how you decide to contact your elected official, be respectful yet firm in your communications. Clearly and sincerely express your opinion on the matter at hand. If you are calling or visiting an elected official, it might help to organize your thoughts on paper first.