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House passes bill trimming 'quality teaching' block grant; attempt to require district certification fails
Summary
Senate Bill 5,010 passed the House 45-24 after members debated a $5 million reduction to the quality teaching block grant. An amendment that would have required districts to certify the cut did not pass; supporters said the cut targets new training funding, opponents called the certification micromanagement.
The Utah House approved Senate Bill 5,010, which implements part of the special‑session cuts to public education, including a $5,000,000 reduction to the 'quality teaching' block grant that had provided new funding for teacher training and other purposes.
Representative Delray told members the bill represents "only half of the budget cuts that were made in public ed appropriations" and that $5,000,000 of the quality teaching block grant would be removed; the block grant previously totaled about $69,178,000 before the reduction. The change was described as removing one U‑PASS training day allocation and rolling the funds into the block grant pool.
Floor debate focused on an amendment that would have conditioned receipt of part of the WPU increase on school districts certifying that the enacted cut "did not increase class size" or otherwise negatively affect classrooms. Opponents, including Representative Aaron and others, called the certification language "micromanaging our school district[s]" and said it effectively held a "gun to their head." Supporters argued the language established policy guidance that cuts enacted in the special session should not affect classroom instruction.
Representative Farron and others said the amendment addressed only cuts enacted in the special session and would not attempt to police prior general‑session cuts. Representative Buckmire and others explained the committee viewed the cut as coming from new money placed in the block grant and favored leaving flexibility for districts.
The motion to cut debate (previous question) was called and carried; the proposed certification amendment failed on the floor. The final passage vote recorded in the transcript shows Senate Bill 5,010, as amended on the floor, passed the House with 45 yes votes and 24 no votes and was referred back to the Senate for further consideration.
Next steps: The bill was transmitted to the Senate; implementation details, including how districts will allocate reduced block‑grant dollars, remain subject to rules and local decisions.
