Walker set up a task force of parents and state education officials to find a way to still get money to parents who need it but without what she called a questionable law.

But legislators wouldn't sign off on the plan. Nor would they override her veto. And Walker, who lost her re-election bid in the May GOP convention, won't put the bill's compromise plan on the call for a special legislative session, expected sometime this month.

Instead, the matter will be taken up in the 2005 Legislature, and likely get money to parents this school year, Walker spokeswoman Amanda Covington said.

Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan, already has drafted a bill similar to the one she and Rep. Morgan Philpot, R-Sandy, carried last year.

That concerns public school officials.

Many see the bill as opening the door to tuition tax credits. Advocates say the credits will open education choice to all; school bosses contend they would devastate already strained public school coffers.

But having the state school board seek more special needs dollars from the Legislature helps everyone, Kim Burningham said.

"It stays in the public realm, and all kids benefit," he said. Some school districts could even decide to contract with private schools for services, as a few do now.

But the issue isn't all about money, said Laura Anderson, whose 8-year-old son attends the Pingree school. It's about needs.

Anderson's son doesn't speak, and before coming to the Pingree school, could not make eye contact and had a hard time wearing clothes. Now, he's learning how to learn, thanks to one-on-one supervision and teaching, she said. Public schools probably can't provide that kind of intense service.

"They do a wonderful job with most children, but . . . I think it's almost arrogant for a public school to assume it can be everything to every child," Anderson said. "While I support and I applaud (the state board's potential request) . . . it's just not a funding issue. It's a recognition that some children's needs are very different."

---

E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com