Committee hears grants requests for classroom tools and student programs, including Scribble, social‑skills curricula and assemblies

The committee heard a series of requests for appropriations (RFAs) from advocates, vendors and educators seeking state support for classroom tools and student programs.

Scribble: Senator Fillmore read testimonials from Utah teachers and introduced district technology leaders and the company’s CEO in support of Scribble, a research and writing platform used to track student annotations, sources and the writing process. Weber School District’s director of digital teaching said state contracts provide training stability and help manage responsible AI integration. Scribble’s CEO described a new optional AI chatbot called "Reese" and cited a national efficacy study with the National Writing Project that the company said showed a 40% improvement in argumentative writing metrics; the presenters asked for $1.4 million and suggested multiyear funding to encourage district adoption.

Social‑skills and mental health programs: Presenters for Teach It Right / We Are Friends and Teaching It Right told the committee their curriculum supports social‑emotional learning, reduces disruptive behavior and provides early intervention tied to suicide prevention work in some districts. A licensed marriage and family therapist described classroom‑based social health curricula that, in his experience, correlated with reduced suicides in a prior high school implementation; a student testified about personal gains from participation.

United We Pledge / Liberty Village: Presenters described a fifth‑grade civics curriculum 'Give Me Liberty' and Liberty Village, an education campus under development. They said the pilot expanded to multiple counties and requested state support to scale programming and the planned Liberty Village campus.

Early interactive literacy software: Senator Johnson summarized evidence that adaptive literacy software reaches a large share of Utah students (presenter said 73% participation in K–12) and cited University of Utah research showing vendor usage correlates with higher reading scores; presenters warned that eliminating these tools could reduce the rate of third‑grade reading on grade level by an estimated 4.3 percentage points.

Course Choice and master teacher programs: Staff and program sponsors discussed a technical fix to ensure statutory enrollment growth adjustments apply to Course Choice Empowerment (a prior oversight) and a request to make a master teacher stipend program permanent after a successful pilot across 39 LEAs with 2,080 educators.

Remarkability Project: Representative Cutler introduced the 'Friend to Friend' assemblies run by the Remarkability Project, which pairs neurotypical and neurodiverse students in performances intended to reduce bullying and increase inclusion; the pilot seeks RFA funding to reach 10,000 students in elementary classrooms.

Several presenters emphasized that short‑term or one‑time funding undermines district adoption, arguing multiyear contracts are essential for training and sustained instructional outcomes. Committee members asked clarifying questions; no appropriation votes were held at the hearing.