The program also appropriates $9.2 million to offset any financial impact school districts may experience for five years after a student leaves and goes to a private school.

But critics of the law say the program shifts public money to private schools. Last spring, they filed for a referendum to let voters either repeal or keep the voucher program.

Utahns will vote Tuesday whether to repeal the law.

A group of Latino leaders said Thursday that vouchers have the potential to make private school an affordable option for low-income ethnic minority students who are struggling to achieve in public school.

"It brings it within reach," said Antonella Romero Packard, president of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce. "It's time to try something new that will complement (public schools). This is a great start."

However, the question of whether the vouchers would help or hamper efforts to raise student achievement is far from decided by leaders in Utah's minority community.

Jeanetta Williams, head of the Salt Lake Branch of the NAACP, said vouchers would "hasten the abandonment of public schools," leaving behind the low-income students.

Williams sees it as a civil-rights issue, saying that the NAACP fought hard to desegregate public schools, and vouchers could lead to a new division of students.

She says public funds would be better spent on more resources for public schools and in holding parents more accountable for their child's education.

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