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Committee grants Iron County School District timeline waiver to separate Iron Online from alternative high school
Summary
Iron County will be allowed to designate Iron Online as a separate school despite missing the January 1 application deadline; committee action forwarded to the full board unanimously.
The Rules and Licensing Committee unanimously approved Iron County School District’s request for a timeline waiver to designate Iron Online as a separate accredited school, forwarding the waiver to the full board for final approval.
Principal Steve Scofield, principal of alternative programs in Iron County School District, told the committee Iron Online has operated under the district’s Southwest Education Academy (the district’s alternative high school) for roughly five years and has grown since the COVID period. Scofield said the program now functions at a scale that complicates administration and data reporting under a single accredited school and that separation will streamline PowerSchool reporting, accreditations and local administration.
“This year we are seeking to separate Iron Online. So this isn’t a new school in the way that you would think about it, you know, with a new building and new teachers and things like that. It's an existing program that’s operated under their alternative high school, and they're seeking to separate the two and have Iron Online be designated as its own new school,” a committee staff summary said.
Scofield told the committee the local school board considered and voted on the separation at its regular meeting the prior week; he said there were no objections at the local level. Committee members asked whether the alternative high school’s accreditation or improvement plan would be affected; Scofield said separation will better isolate each program’s data and that accreditation is being pursued at the district level.
Board member Carol Lear raised demographic questions after reviewing enrollment figures, noting a disproportionate representation of Latino students in the alternative program and urging district attention. Scofield acknowledged the trend and said district leaders are reviewing enrollment patterns and that the district will examine root causes.
The committee’s motion approved a waiver from Utah Administrative Code R277-484 (staff and counsel had discussed overlapping rule citations during the hearing) and forwarded the action to the full board.
Vote: Motion passed unanimously. Principal Scofield and district staff will proceed with required steps for separation and accreditation coordination.
