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Senate substitutes sweeping COVID testing plan for schools, circles bill for more review
Summary
Senate sponsor Sen. Weiler substituted nearly all language in Senate Bill 107 to create a state‑supported 'test‑to‑stay' program and raise the case threshold for school closures; lawmakers debated health‑department capacity and safeguards and the Senate circled the substitute for further work.
Senator Tim Weiler introduced a near‑complete substitute to Senate Bill 107 on Feb. 12, 2021, proposing a statewide framework to support widespread COVID‑19 testing in schools and to allow districts to implement 'test‑to‑stay' programs that would limit disruptions to in‑person instruction.
The substitute would require the Utah Department of Health to provide testing support and to promulgate guidance that complies with specified statutory provisions. It would set a case threshold — described on the floor as roughly 2% of a school's student population testing positive — at which an LEA (local education agency) could initiate a test‑to‑stay program rather than closing classrooms or shifting to broad remote learning. Senator Weiler said the sub targets COVID response across all school districts and charters, provides “flexibility to make the decisions that will allow them to make the best choices for our children,” and is intended to keep students in school while also increasing testing capacity.
Floor colleagues pressed the sponsor about operational capacity and local impacts. Senator Iwamoto asked whether the Department of Health (already engaged in vaccine rollout) had been consulted; Weiler said health‑department leadership had been involved in discussions and would not be surprised by the bill’s requirements. Senator Milner and other supporters emphasized that superintendents in their districts asked for more flexibility and testing support to prevent repeated closures. Opponents, led by Senator McKay, said the substitute discards earlier trigger language that provided safeguards and worried about removing statutory protections for in‑school options; McKay said the rewrite ‘‘took the school district to the alley and broke their kneecaps’’ in removing previous provisions.
Several senators, including Senator Kitchen and others, urged additional conversations with local school districts and health officials. After extended debate, the Senate voted to replace the existing SB 107 with the first substitute and then to circled the bill — a procedural move sending the substituted draft back for further review over the weekend before the body takes final action.
What’s next: Sponsor Senator Weiler said he had notified the Salt Lake School District ahead of the substitution and intends the sub to apply uniformly across all districts and eligible charter schools. Because the Senate circled the substitute, the measure will not receive a final up‑or‑down floor vote this week and will return to the calendar after members have had additional time to consult with local education and public‑health leaders.
