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House expands school support funding to K-12, earmarks about $30 million
Summary
Lawmakers passed Second Substitute HB 373 to extend a counselor matching-grant program from elementary to K-12, with roughly $30 million prioritized for counselors, psychologists, social workers and school nurses; parental opt-in rules for ongoing services were specified.
The Utah House passed Second Substitute House Bill 373 on March 4 to broaden an existing elementary-school counselor program to serve grades K-12 and to fund a wider set of student-support positions.
Representative Eliason, sponsor, said the substitute expands a previously oversubscribed matching-grant program to include school counselors, psychologists, social workers and school nurses and that prioritized funding in the State Board of Education budget would provide approximately $30,000,000 in matching grants to districts and charter schools that opt in. "This would fund school counselors, psychologists, social workers, school nurses," Eliason said, adding that positions must be certified and licensed and that sustained services beyond an initial meeting would require parental opt-in.
The sponsor said the measure clarifies that schools are not authorized to provide clinical mental-health services and supports local partnerships with mental-health authorities where parents consent. Proponents including the State Board, education associations and the governor's office supported the bill on the floor. The House approved the measure 62-6 and sent it to the Senate.
Provenance: floor presentation, Q&A and recorded vote on HB 373, March 4, 2019.
