State board creates standing committee for Utah School for the Deaf and Blind

The Utah State Board of Education on a recorded vote approved an amendment to Article 2, Section 3 of its bylaws to add a standing committee for the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (USDB), a move board members said will let a smaller team of five board members take a deeper, ongoing role in USDB matters.

Board members and USDB leaders said the new committee will meet separately from the full board meeting schedule to allow longer, subject‑specific discussion on finance, facilities, transportation and program needs and then bring formal recommendations to the full board.

Supporters argued the change will let board members provide the sustained attention they said USDB needs. “We move that the board amend Article 2 Section 3 of the board bylaws to add a standing committee for the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind,” Vice Chair Leanne Wood said when she placed the motion on the floor. Wood said the committee would “do the deep dive into finance, into school needs, into buildings, into transportation,” and bring recommendations to the board in the same way other standing committees do.

Member Carey and others said limited time during full board meetings had frequently forced short updates instead of extended discussion. Superintendent Joel Coleman, who leads USDB, told the board the agency had long sought a subcommittee arrangement and welcomed the extra engagement. Coleman said USDB “has never felt anything but support” from the board and described the proposal as “logical.”

Board members also raised procedural and fiscal questions before voting. Member Boggess asked whether a meeting held as the USDB board could then amend the USBE bylaws. Ben Rasmussen, director of law and professional practices, advised that the board is a single body governed by the same bylaws, and it was appropriate to address either agenda item in the meeting. Members also asked where compensation or travel costs for committee work would come from; Deputy Superintendent of Operations Scott Jones said committee compensation would still come out of the board’s existing funding and that USDB belongs to the same department budgeting structure (department 400).

The board’s motion was seconded and approved. The chair noted the amendment requires a two‑thirds majority and recorded the motion as passing unanimously with one member absent.

Board staff said the bylaw text change will also require a clerical update to the committee definition language in the bylaws and that staff will add the standing committee to the standing‑committee definition if the board’s will remains to implement it.

Why it matters: USDB is a state public school agency serving students who are deaf, blind or deaf‑blind statewide. Board members and USDB leaders said a standing committee will create sustained capacity to address budget pressures, campus building plans and transportation logistics that do not fit easily into brief full‑board time slots.

The board did not adopt committee membership or a schedule at the meeting; those details and any formal charter language will follow in future board business.