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House rejects pilot education savings‑account bill after debate over cost and complexity
Summary
Lawmakers debated House Bill 123, a two‑year pilot that would deposit $6,400 into accounts for up to 500 juniors and seniors to assemble custom public high‑school experiences; questions about funding, course valuation, and administrative burden led to its defeat, 26‑46.
Representative Dougal moved to bring first substitute House Bill 123 to the floor and framed it as a two‑year pilot program that would place $6,400 into an educational savings account for up to 500 11th‑ and 12th‑grade students to spend on public high‑school options across districts, charter schools, concurrent‑enrollment courses and applied‑technology programs. Dougal said the design would let students and parents "mix and match their public education experience" and that unused savings could roll forward for future education costs.
Opponents raised practical and fiscal concerns. Representative Powell asked whether the state had ever offered a comparable program and pushed the sponsor on how high schools would "put a numerical value on every course that they teach." Powell recommended more stakeholder study rather than immediate enactment, saying the bill “will require things that we should not ask our public institutions” to undertake now. Representative Watkins likewise questioned funding and operational impacts on principals and superintendents.
The sponsor said funding would combine a direct appropriation and portions of existing Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU) allocations, and said the concept had been discussed with multiple districts and the state office. Supporters described the measure as an experiment in local control and transparency; Representative Sumption argued that moving funds closer to parents could increase engagement and that business managers could handle tracking the accounts.
After brief summations and the required procedural votes, the House recorded 26 yes votes and 46 no votes; the motion failed and the bill was filed. The outcome leaves the idea untested at the legislative level and signals reluctance from a majority of representatives to adopt the proposed operational model without further study or fiscal detail.
The House returned to other calendar business after the vote; no immediate follow‑up action on HB123 was announced.
