Families of students with special needs may be happy to learn that a tax credit scholarship offering new educational options is on its final leg to becoming law. If it can pass the Senate floor vote and get the funding required by its fiscal note, that is.

Yesterday (Monday, March 9), the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee voted unanimously to pass HB 332 3rd Substitute – Special Needs Scholarship Amendments with a favorable recommendation, which means it will go to the full Senate body to fight the ticking clock of the legislative session’s final days. 

Late last week, the bill was passed by the Utah House of Representatives – something that didn’t happen during the 2019 session – making the bill’s passage this year already more promising than last.

This bill is an important policy in expanding parental choice in Utah, which is why Sutherland Institute supports it. The Utah Code states that parents have the privilege and opportunity to guide their children’s education, which becomes a more meaningful provision as education options continue to increase. The Carson Smith Scholarship was a step in this direction – offering parents of students with special needs the opportunity to send their child to a private school. The tax credit scholarship program proposed this year in HB 332 would expand what families could spend funds on, acknowledging the reality that our public education system is charged with educating a broad and diverse set of students.

Parents who attended the committee yesterday shared harrowing stories of struggling to find options for their children who have special needs – students with autism, children with traumatic brain injury, and students whose school situation was so dire that they were contemplating suicide.

Of course, yesterday’s unanimous committee vote did not come without opposition from established education stakeholders during public comment, and these voices are likely to repeat their concerns as the bill progresses through the final legislative steps.

The Utah State Board of Education, Utah School Boards Association, Utah School Superintendents Association, Utah PTA, and Utah Education Association all publicly opposed the bill, arguing the effects on state funding may not be as positive as stated and that the Carson Smith Scholarship could be amended to accomplish the same opportunities.

For those who are not yet aware of this bill, the tax credit scholarship would allow students with an individualized education program (IEP) the opportunity to purchase a range of educational options like private tutoring, school tuition, special needs therapies and more. And rather than being dependent on a yearly appropriation like the Carson Smith Scholarship, this program would be dependent on donations. In short, it creates more options and has greater potential for growth.

For parents who want to add their support to the ranks of those who have spoken in favor of the bill, now is the time to take advantage of the remaining three days of the session. Parents deserve whatever options are necessary to meet the unique needs of students, and this bill is an important step in making that a reality.