Senate approves $500,000 paraeducator pilot for Title I "challenged" schools after extended debate

The Utah Senate on Friday approved Senate Bill 81, a targeted $500,000 appropriation intended to place paraeducators in Title I-identified "challenged" schools for one- to two-year interventions to boost reading instruction.

Senator Maine, sponsor of the measure, told colleagues that principals and educators in challenged schools identified a lack of paraeducators as a primary need and that the appropriation would give those schools additional one-on-one support. Maine described the proposed hires as trained paraprofessionals who generally work 20'25 hours per week, are often required to hold a two-year degree and appropriate certification for reading programs, and would be supervised by classroom teachers.

Senators pressed the sponsor for details on how many paraeducators the appropriation would fund and how the State Board of Education would allocate limited dollars across a statewide list of schools. Maine and Senator Morgan (who spoke to related class-size reduction legislation) said the appropriation was intended as additional, time-limited support targeted to schools that failed Adequate Yearly Progress under federal law; the State Board of Education would prioritize and administer funds and report back to the Public Education Appropriations Committee.

Concerns surfaced about training standards and program quality. Senator Stevenson and others argued that existing paraeducator certification requirements may not match the more stringent training used by some highly effective programs (for example, a preschool program in Granite School District cited by senators). Several senators asked for amendments on the third reading to ensure higher-quality training standards; Maine acknowledged the point and said she would consider amendments.

After debate on funding priorities and overlap with other education initiatives, the Senate recorded a roll-call vote: 24 yeas, 5 nays, 0 absent. The bill was placed on the third-reading calendar.

What the bill does: SB81 would appropriate $500,000 for the State Board of Education to allocate to Title I "challenged" schools for hiring paraeducators. The funding is intended for short-term, targeted interventions (one to two years) to help those schools regain performance benchmarks.

Key procedural next steps: The appropriation will be administered by the State Board of Education, which the sponsor and several senators said must be accountable and report back to appropriations committees on allocations and student outcome measures.

Quote: "These professionals ... give it every day, every day, every day," Senator Maine said describing how paraeducators deliver one-on-one reading instruction.

Ending: The Senate placed SB81 on the third-reading calendar for final floor consideration; senators signaled an appetite for amendments targeting training quality before its next appearance on the floor.