Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Online Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House approves changes to statewide online education program; audit of Electronic High School restored
Summary
Lawmakers approved a substitute to Senate Bill 178 that codifies a tiered pricing structure for online courses, clarifies LEA contracting and course limits, and reinstates an audit requirement for the Electronic High School; the measure passed after multiple amendments and debate.
The Utah House on March 6 approved a revised statewide online education framework under first substitute Senate Bill 178, adopting technical changes, price caps, and an audit requirement for the Electronic High School.
Representative Dott, the floor sponsor, described the state’s experience with online education and said districts had created consortiums that drove down prices; the substitute codifies those consortium provisions and establishes a tiered fee schedule with caps (for example, a maximum for core courses). "When we started out, we anticipated primarily core courses," the sponsor said, explaining why tiered pricing is meant to align cost with course type.
Amendments adopted on the floor included a clarification that primary (sending) LEAs must acknowledge course credit when negotiating with online providers, a Last amendment that limited inducements by providers and put registration/registration-period provisions in place, and a Sandstrom amendment reinstating language to require an audit of the Electronic High School focused on course completion rates, credits earned, and cost-per-course measures. Representative Sandstrom told members the audit would examine effectiveness and noted current weekly use figures (6,258 students) and credit-earning rates.
The bill retains a provision that limits funded online credits to eight per student at taxpayer expense while allowing districts discretion to provide additional courses. Sponsors noted that districts and consortiums could negotiate lower prices than the statutory caps.
Supporters said the reform preserves choice and strengthens quality controls; opponents and questioners raised concerns about limiting electives for rural students and the impact on small districts, which floor sponsors addressed by noting core required courses remain broad and other pathways — including concurrent enrollment or district-provided courses — remain available.
The first substitute passed the House (final recorded tallies noted 68 yes, 4 no).
Provisions adopted on the floor included: tiered maximum prices for online courses, clarified LEA and consortium responsibilities, restoration of an Electronic High School audit program, and maintained limits on state-funded online credits with local discretion for additional offerings.
Next steps: The amended substitute will be returned to the Senate for consideration. The audit requirement provides the legislature a mechanism to review Electronic High School performance measures in coming months.
