Senate gives final OK for disability vouchers

A bill giving government vouchers to parents sending children with disabilities to private schools passed the Legislature Friday with a quick 21-6 Senate vote and now goes to the governor for his signature.

A bill similar to HB249, sponsored by Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan, passed last year. But it was vetoed by former Gov. Olene Walker — a move that may have contributed to her loss of a re-election bid.

There is little worry this bill will hit a similar roadblock this time around.

The bill addressed concerns brought up by the State Board of Education, which since has voted to support the concept in the legislation. And Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has said he supports the measure.

"I am so excited," said Laura Anderson, whose son attends the Carmen B. Pingree School for Children with Autism, a respected, $23,000-a-year private school. "Especially for us, now, the decision to place kids in public schools will be based on (the child's) ability rather than our ability to pay tuition."

HB249 would offer parents up to 2.5 times the state's per-student funding formula, or around $5,500, to take special-education students to private schools.

The bill includes accountability for participating schools and students, including teacher requirements and eligibility reviews, and aims to bar participants from suing the state for all their child's educational expenses under federal provisions for educating the disabled.

The bill's fiscal note calls for $2.5 million in general funds and a $900,000 enrollment-based school budget reduction to account for voucher-eligible students leaving public for private schools. But Newbold says she only wants $1.4 million.

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