HB0398S02 | Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill amends provisions related to the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program.

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill amends provisions related to the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship
Program.
This bill:
14 ▸ modifies defined terms;
15 ▸ expands the expenses for which a scholarship recipient may use a scholarship
16 award;
17 ▸ amends the formula for calculating a scholarship amount for an eligible student;
18 ▸ allows a scholarship granting organization to prorate a scholarship award under
19 certain circumstances;
20 ▸ increases the amount of donations a scholarship granting organization may carry
21 forward in a fiscal year;

Bill Details
Year: 
2023
Status: 
Governor Signed
Last Action: 
Mar 14, 2023
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 57
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Pending
Utah PTA Resolution: 
Impact on Children: 

This bill expands the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship to be used for a wider variety of services, including transportation, educational software, computer hardware, tutoring services, etc. This bill also allows money not spent to be rolled over for the next year. This bill would take money away from the public education fund and send it to private schools. Families attending private schools must waive their rights to special education services, since private schools are not required to provide these services.

Commission: 
Special Needs Specialist
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations oppose funding mechanisms such as vouchers, tax credits, deductions; and, be it further
Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations will always oppose funding methods that divert funds away from public education system if the accountability methods are not equal to or greater than those of public education system; and, be it further
Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations and its constituent associations oppose the dilution of the constitutional mandate to fully fund public education and oppose income tax cuts and credits that directly reduce the amount allocated to public education funding.

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities: 

EDUCATION FUNDING. Support an adequately funded public school system