Dee's bill made those switching from public to private schools, those new to the state, or those who are low-income and currently in private schools eligible for a voucher. Recipients would have to take a national standardized test and report results to anyone who asks. And participating private schools would have to meet rules including having teachers with at least four-year degrees and meet anti-discrimination laws.

Dee's bill last year would have given school districts money to keep their budgets whole for up to five years after a student took a voucher, and at one point called for a $13 million state investment. The logic was to not hurt public schools, whose leaders have said giving public funds to private schools would devastate a cash-strapped school system.

That's where Urquhart's bill likely will differ.

"Initially, I might not have that in my bill. To me, it doesn't make a lot of sense, if (districts) lose a student, to be financially rewarded," Urquhart said. He said 35 to 80 percent of each student's spending would remain in the public schools' realm under his bill, thus increasing per-student spending under what he called "basic economics."

Still, he said, mitigation for school districts losing a lot of students to vouchers isn't out of the question.

"We're closing in on ideas that will definitely be good for education in the state, and will even (be) good for public education directly ... and good for students and families," Urquhart said.

But attorneys at the State Office of Education said the bill isn't coming in line with Ohio's law, recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, that allows a nominal voucher for parents staying in the public school system. That voucher could go for tutoring for example, said Carol Lear, director of school law and legislation for the State Office of Education.

"The point the U.S. Supreme Court made is you need true parental choice, and you don't have (that) with this kind of bill," Lear said. She also says private schools accepting voucher ought to administer all the same tests — writing exams, high school graduation tests, end-of-the-year CRTs — public schools do, and be held equally accountable for student progress.

Public education officials and teachers generally stand against vouchers and tuition tax credits in so-called "school-choice" bills, which have surfaced every year since 2000. State Board of Education Chairman Kim Burningham penned an editorial, printed in Wednesday's Deseret Morning News, opposing vouchers and urging others to call their legislators to do the same. The Utah Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, also is a vehement opponent.

Four years ago, Urquhart was the House sponsor of a competency-based education and reform omnibus bill, which included tax credits for private school tuition and a $97 million tax increase. The bill passed the Senate, but the hard-line House wouldn't touch it.