The amount of tuition vouchers would range from $3,000 for a family of four making $37,000 or less to $500 for a family with income more than $101,750. In this and other ways, the bill being crafted by Rep. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, is nearly identical to last year's House Bill 340, which died without ever getting a committee assignment.

Whether it will fare better this year remains to be seen. This year, voucher supporters include the chairmen of several key committees as well as House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, and Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble, R-Provo. The Senate likely has enough votes to pass the bill, but majority support in the House has been elusive.

Urquhart presented his draft to colleagues at a caucus luncheon and asked for input so he could finalize language and introduce the bill for formal consideration, perhaps as early as next week.

"Some people say this is just for rich people and they already have options," Urquhart told the caucus. "But there are families that don't currently have those options. This is intended to give them a little leg up, a little help."

Voucher opponents traditionally focus on several issues: taxpayer dollars flowing to religious schools, limited private school oversight, equal access to schools that don't provide busing and how an exodus of students might impact public schools, which could lose funding but not necessarily see lower costs.

Legislators asked some of those questions during the lunch.

The bill declares itself neutral with respect to religion because parents can choose secular private schools, Urquhart said.

All schools accepting voucher students would have to employ teachers with college degrees, have at least 40 students and not be based in a home, according to the draft.

They would have to give one standardized test a year, but most accountability would come in the form of parents voting with their feet, he said.

And school districts would be held harmless by a provision in the bill that lets them keep part of the funding for students who have left.

But last year's bill, which contained identical language, didn't provide enough protection against discrimination, said Carol Lear, an attorney for the Utah Office of Education. The bill says private schools must follow federal anti-discrimination code, which only relates to ethnicity, but not religion or income, she said.

"For me accountability and accessibility are the big issues," Lear said. "It's probably something that will be litigated if it passes."

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* NICOLE STRICKER can be contacted at nstricker@sltrib.com or 801-257-8999.