Voucher plan for private schools gets a makeover

A bill offering vouchers for private school tuition got a makeover — and a new chief sponsor Wednesday.

HB184, sponsored by Rep. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, follows many of the footsteps left by Rep. Brad Dee's HB340. But it would let school districts recoup only part of their state money lost when parents opt for a voucher. Under the bill sponsored by Dee, R-Washington Terrace, schools wouldn't lose any money to vouchers — a concept voucher lobbying group Parents for Choice in Education decried as bad financial policy.

Parents for Choice never backed Dee's bill as a result. But it likely will get behind Adams' proposal.

"The bill isn't our ideal policy, but it . . . appears to be a win for parents, school districts and, most importantly, Utah's children," said Royce Van Tassell, the Parents for Choice Foundation's communications director. "If Rep. Adams believes in parents, and this bill stays roughly what it looks like now, I'd expect we'll support it."

HB184 marks the end of the road for Dee's legislation, which weeks ago had been assigned to, but never heard by, the House Education Standing Committee.

"I'm just going to let that rest," Dee said. "Stuart has a pretty good bill here; I thought I had a great bill."

Adams' bill, expected to be made public by today, would offer vouchers worth $500 to $3,500, based on income, to students switching from public to private schools or low-income students currently in private schools.

The bill appropriates about $13 million in general funds for the vouchers, subject to budgeting prioritization, Adams said. That's based on a "best guess" of participants, he said.

"I look at this a little bit differently," Adams said. "I don't look at it as private education, I don't look at it as public education. . . . I believe we ought to have an education system, an integrated shared solution. If this strengthens overall education, that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to help kids."

The bill contains regulations and accountability measures for participating private schools and students. Home schools and those with less than 25 students would be ineligible, for example.

School districts are likely to lose students to vouchers. That generally means schools lose state money for each child they have on their roles.