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Utah House approves bill letting districts offer optional extended‑day kindergarten with fees
Summary
The House approved HB 41 to let local school districts offer optional extended‑day kindergarten and charge fees while tying eligibility to existing fee‑waiver rules; supporters cited literacy gains from OEK programs, opponents warned it could compete with private providers and trigger local fee‑waiver costs. (Vote: 47–27)
Representative Eliason, the bill sponsor, told the House that HB 41 would allow local school boards to offer optional extended‑day kindergarten and charge fees while preserving free basic kindergarten and existing fee‑waiver protections. “This is optional for districts, it's optional for schools, it's optional for parents, and it's optional for students,” Eliason said during his presentation.
The bill removes a statutory prohibition so districts and charter schools can expand existing optional extended‑day kindergarten (OEK) programs to more schools. Eliason said the measure carries no state fiscal note and would not require a state appropriation; any program would have to be financially…
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