By james art 
Salt Lake City – a proposed bill by Utah’s legislators offers students’ money to show up for class. The HB206 pilot program chronic absences will allow five schools in Utah to participate in a pilot program.
But every school will have no more than 100 participating students.
“People miss school for a wide variety of reasons,” said the democratic HIP assistant and chief sponsor Sahara Hayes. “So what we are trying to do is find a creative solution to a really complicated problem.”
The pilot program will give up students to $ 400 for 90% or better record for attendance. The money will enter a savings account of MY-529 and will be used for future education.
“People respond a lot better to carrots than sticks,” Hayes said.
The chronic absences in Utah affects twenty -six percent of students
Hayes says chronic absences is a major problem in the Utah public school system. According to the State Council of Education on Utah, more than one in four Utah students are chronically absent or absent for at least 18 days during the school year. This affects the way teachers teach and how other students learn.
“You can’t get the education you need when you constantly have to go back and learn,” Hayes said.
If the HB 206 passes, there will be a study accompanying the bill to analyze its effectiveness. Hayes hopes that the survey will be effective and that additional schools will be able to participate in the program.