Legislative grant requests: Boys & Girls State, Tanner Dance LEAD, medical cannabis research and teacher apprenticeship pilot

Several community and university programs presented requests for grant funding at the committee's RFA segment, outlining program outcomes, costs and the public benefits they provide.

The American Legion asked for $100,000 to support Boys and Girls State at Weber State, with presenters citing civic-education outcomes and rising program costs; the request was described as split 50/50 between the boys and girls programs. Doug Case and Carrie Fisher noted that volunteers and private donors cover much of the event costs but that escalating expenses make supplemental legislative support necessary.

Representative Daley Provo presented two University of Utah proposals. First, she and Mary Ann Lee described the Tanner Dance LEAD program that serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities; the program now enrolls roughly 61 students across two sites, provides vocational rehabilitation and family respite, and carries an annual operating cost the presenters estimated at about $455,000 with tuition covering roughly one-third of expenses.

Second, Provo summarized the Center for Medical Cannabis Research, created by prior legislation and funded through the state's patient enterprise fund. She said the center seeks limited, one-time state support to recruit top researchers and establish an NIH-approved cannabis grow site to enable federal research funding opportunities that became more available after federal rescheduling.

Representative Thompson introduced a $200,000 request to pilot a teacher academy paraprofessional apprenticeship model coordinated by the Center for the School of the Future at Utah State University. Logan superintendent Frank Scofield described the model's benefits: early immersion, extended mentorship and improved readiness for classroom work. The pilot would fund staffing at the coordinating center and school-level support while the program collects outcome data on retention and hiring.

Committee members asked about program costs, return on investment and how many participants each request would support; presenters supplied estimates and pledged follow-up materials. The committee did not take final votes on the RFAs during the meeting.