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Senate approves $50,000 pilot for private alternative schools after funding-source fight
Summary
After debate over whether funding should come from the Uniform School Fund or the General Fund, the Utah Senate passed Senate Bill 22, a one-year, $50,000 pilot to place roughly 30 at-risk youth in private alternative programs; the amendment to restore Uniform School Fund financing failed and the bill will go to the House.
The Utah Senate passed Senate Bill 22, a one-year pilot to fund private alternative school placements for at-risk youth, after a heated floor exchange over which state fund should pay for the program.
Senator David Stevenson, sponsor of SB 22, described the measure as "a bill that provides a 1 year pilot program of $50,000 for alternative programs for young people who are either placed there by juvenile court judge or referred to there by a school counselor or Department of Family Services professional." He said the funding would cover roughly 30 slots and read several letters describing student success stories from private programs such as the Utah Boys Ranch.
Senator Black objected to the bill drawing money from the General Fund rather than the Uniform School Fund and moved to amend the bill to restore the Uniform School Fund as the source. On the floor Senator Black said the program is educational and argued "I cannot support the bill taking out general fund money." Senator Steele and others opposed the amendment, noting strong opposition from the education community to shifting uniform school funds into private programs and urging caution as broader funding debates continue.
Senators discussed that changing the funding source was a political choice made to avoid criticism from education groups. Senator Stevenson said the change was intended to allay that criticism and that the $50,000 pilot was intended as "an appropriate test program."
After debate and a brief call of the Senate to ensure quorum, the Senate voted on SB 22. President Beatty reported the final tally as 19 aye votes, 9 nay votes, and 1 absent; the bill will pass to the House for further consideration.
Floor remarks focused narrowly on funding source and program scale; some senators argued $50,000 would be only a "token amount" while others said it was a necessary seed to test the model. Senator Howell announced he intends to introduce a larger public–private initiative in the future and praised the concept while questioning the amount.
The Senate returned SB 22 to the House for further consideration with the funding source as recorded on the bill.
