SB 107 amends Utah’s Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships for eligible students with disabilities to help pay for private-school tuition and other approved education-related expenses. The bill’s central change is to remove income-based criteria from scholarship awards. Under the revised language, scholarship amounts for qualifying students in kindergarten through grade 12 are no longer tied to whether family income is above or below a federal poverty threshold; instead, the award amount is set at 2.5 times the value of the weighted pupil unit. Preschool awards remain tied to the weighted pupil unit, and sibling applicants may receive half the weighted pupil unit amount.
The bill also makes technical and conforming changes to the program’s definitions and eligibility provisions. It retains the program structure under which scholarship granting organizations award funds to eligible students, including students with qualifying disabilities, home-based scholarship students, and certain siblings of scholarship recipients. The bill continues to allow scholarship funds to be used for a broad range of educational expenses, including tuition, tutoring, therapies, transportation, instructional materials, technology, testing fees, and extracurricular or enrichment activities approved by the scholarship granting organization.
Impact
SB 107 amends Utah Code Sections 53E-7-401 and 53E-7-402, changing how eligibility and award amounts are administered under the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program. The most significant legal effect is the elimination of income-based award tiers and related references to the federal poverty level, simplifying the scholarship formula for qualifying students with disabilities. The bill does not appropriate new money, but it changes how existing scholarship funds may be distributed and who may receive them at the higher award level.
Sentiment
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the materials supplied. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be framed as a program simplification and expansion of access by removing income restrictions. The overall tone of the legislation is administrative and policy-focused rather than controversial on its face, though it affects a disability scholarship program that can draw interest from parents, private schools, scholarship organizations, and public education stakeholders.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the removal of income-based criteria. Supporters are likely to view this as broadening access and reducing administrative complexity for families of students with disabilities, while critics may argue that eliminating income limits shifts scholarships away from lower-income families and expands eligibility beyond the original means-tested design. Another possible area of concern is the continued use of public-style scholarship funding for private education and related services, which can raise broader debates about school choice, equity, and the role of scholarship granting organizations.
"Opportunity Scholarship Act"; establishes pilot program in Department of Treasury providing tax credits to taxpayers contributing to scholarships for low-income children.
"Opportunity Scholarship Act"; establishes pilot program in Department of Treasury providing tax credits to taxpayers contributing to scholarships for low-income children.