Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Choice Scholarships topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board members press for stronger controls as HB 455 revises Utah Fits All scholarship management
Summary
Board members raised concerns about HB 455’s changes to the Utah Fits All scholarship program, including the program-manager role, provider approvals and controls on allowable scholarship expenses; staff said program-manager controls and audit readiness are being improved.
Board members reviewed H.B. 455, the substitute that amends the Utah Fits All (UFA) scholarship program, and raised concerns about program-manager responsibilities, provider approval authority, and safeguards against misuse of scholarship funds.
Deputy Superintendent Elise Newey summarized the substitute: it clarifies the roles of a financial contractor and a program manager, requires USBE to reopen the request for proposals for program management, and specifies contract and reporting requirements. Newey said the substitute restricts scholarship spending categories and narrowed an early draft limitation so that no more than 20% may be used for “physical education activities” rather than a broader extracurricular category.
Board members sought stronger controls. Member Lair urged retaining a robust program-manager approval process for providers and asked for indemnification language if the board’s RFP process exposes the agency to liability when a program-manager contract changes. Member Boggess and others cited public examples they said raised concerns about inappropriate or inflated reimbursements under the program manager’s oversight.
Newey and staff said the program manager (current manager ACE) has been instructed to be “audit-ready” and that staff are requesting more granular reporting from the manager on how funds flow to providers, districts and charters. “We have emphasized with the program manager that they have to be audit ready,” a staff member said; board members asked staff to secure clear contractual controls in the RFP for future managers.
