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Utah Senate advances bill to let funding "follow" students when districts decline in-person classes
Summary
The Utah Senate voted to advance Senate Bill 107, which would allow state education funding to move with students who leave districts that do not offer in-person instruction; the measure passed a third-reading motion 22–6 after extended debate over public health, local control and whether funds could flow to private schools.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate on day three moved ahead with a bill intended to give parents more options for K–6 in-person instruction during the pandemic, approving a motion to read Senate Bill 107 for a third time by a 22–6 margin.
Senator Jon Weiler, the bill sponsor, told colleagues the measure would allow “funding to travel with a public education student if they leave an LEA that does not offer in-person learning,” including a mechanism he described as sending “one half of the WPU” for the second half of the school year to a receiving public school and, in limited circumstances, up to three WPUs to a private school to offset tuition costs.
“Parents have to work to support their children,” Weiler said in his introduction, arguing remote learning is not a one-size-fits-all solution and that some children, particularly younger grades, are falling behind. The sponsor said the bill was designed to give parents a practical option when a school district provides no in-person opportunities.
Several senators raised safety and practicality concerns. Senator Reby questioned whether classrooms could maintain CDC-recommended distancing and noted some classrooms she knows hold 25–35 students, not the small groups the sponsor described. Senator Iwamoto and others noted evolving public-health conditions and the emergence of new variants.
A number of senators also objected to language that would send state funding to private schools if parents move students out of a district that offers no in-person option. “Since when have we began sending our precious, tax dollars to private schools to educate children,” Senator Davis asked on the floor, describing the proposal as opening a door to taxpayer funding for private education.
Weiler rejected the voucher characterization, saying the bill does not create a parent-held voucher and that any transfer to a private school would occur via a contract with the district only if the private school agreed to provide an in-classroom opportunity. “There won't be a single dollar of the WPU that flows through private school if there's an in-classroom opportunity available by February 8,” the sponsor said.
Other senators pushed for safeguards and asked whether the policy should include a sunset clause tied to the pandemic; Weiler said there is no sunset provision in the bill but that a friendly amendment could be considered. Senators also pressed on capacity in private or independent schools and whether a receiving school could realistically absorb an influx of students.
The Senate proceeded with a roll-call on the motion to read the bill for a third time; the chair recorded the result as 22 ayes, 6 nays and 1 absent. The motion carried, and the bill was ordered to third reading.
Next steps: Senate Bill 107 will appear on the third-reading calendar, where it may be considered for final passage later in the session.
