Committee approves 19-member working group to study Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind

The Deaf and Blind Standing Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the Utah State Board of Education establish a working group to address governance, oversight, scope of services and facility needs for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB).

Leanne Wood, committee chair, said the legislature had recommended a formalized process to develop a joint understanding with the legislature and the board. She referenced interim study recommendations from the public education appropriations committee that asked the board "to establish a work group to address concerns about USDB governance, oversight, role and scope of service and facility needs."

Members discussed the group’s size and composition at length. The committee’s proposed membership, which it voted to forward to the full board, included: a USBE-assigned facilitator; three State Board of Education members from the Deaf and Blind standing committee; two superintendents (one from a small district and one from a larger district); a RISA representative; a Brid(al)/rural representative; one business administrator; two USBE staff; four USDB staff; a member of the House public education interim committee or appropriations subcommittee and a Senate member from the same committees; a representative of charter schools; two LEA special education directors (one small, one large); a member of the USDB advisory council; and content-based invitees (for facilities, finance, etc.) as needed.

Board member Jenny Earl moved the recommendation. Earl read the motion aloud and the committee voted in favor without objection. The committee told staff it expects the working group to be ready to report as it develops options for both short-term and long-term funding arrangements and to coordinate with the legislature’s interim committee representatives.

Why it matters: the working group is intended to build a statutory and operational framework for how USDB fits into Utah’s public education system, including short-term bridge funding and longer-term funding and facility plans. Committee members said the group will include LEA and special education leadership so the final recommendations reflect the needs of districts and students across the state.

The committee also discussed whether the working group should include parents or advocacy organizations; members concluded the group should start with structural and administrative representation and invite other stakeholders as content topics dictate. The committee will forward its recommendation to the full board.