State board directs staff to seek code change to split ‘instructional equipment and supplies’ definition

The Utah State Board of Education voted to direct staff to work with legislators on potential amendments to the Utah Code to separate the single defined term “instructional equipment and supplies” into distinct definitions for equipment and for supplies.

Board members approved the motion at a regular meeting, with a final tally of 12 yeses and one abstention (Member Klein). The board said the change is intended to clarify how school fees will be applied beginning in the 2025–26 school year.

The action grew out of House Bill 415 from the 2024 legislative session, which combined two previously separate definitions into one. “The new defined term is instructional equipment and supplies,” Angie Stallings, deputy superintendent for policy, said. “The request would be to separate those back out because within that one defined term, it has both durable and consumable, and it's not quite working to have those two terms combined.”

Stallings told the board the combined definition has created confusion for local education agencies (LEAs) about which materials are chargeable as fees and which are not. She gave a practical example in the meeting: durable tools such as hairstyling shears are being coupled with consumable items such as workbook sheets, and those items are different in how students use them and how fees are assessed.

“This defined term would only apply to school fees. Not at all to other finance related,” Stallings added, clarifying the board’s request would not affect unrelated funding categories.

Board members discussed how the change would be limited to school-fee definitions and would allow the Legislature to consider whether LEAs should be permitted to continue charging fees for certain items. Stallings said staff would work with the legislator presumed to be handling school-fee issues next session and that Barbie Faust, who attended part of the day, might join via Zoom to provide additional information.

The motion before the board directed staff to work with legislators on potential amendments to the Utah Code as proposed regarding school-fee definitions. Voting results were stated in the meeting as 12 yeses and one abstention; Member Klein was recorded as abstaining. The board did not set a public deadline for the legislative work in the meeting record.

Stallings closed the item by offering board members further assistance on overlapping policy and funding questions: “If board members have questions, because sometimes policy requests can also be funding requests, you're more than welcome to call me, and we can talk about it, and I can have the motion ready for you.”

Staff will now pursue discussions with legislators and return with any draft language or recommendations at a future meeting if and when they are available.