A lawmaker and the state PTA made peace Wednesday over a bill that some worried might have kept the PTA out of Utah schools.

Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, along with the PTA and members of Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs), reached a compromise on SB199. Bramble agreed to take out part of the bill that would have prohibited schools from working with parent groups that refused to waive dues upon request.

The PTA charges members dues, and Marilyn Simister, Utah PTA president, has said the PTA would not be able to waive dues without consulting the national organization and changing bylaws.

Simister and Cheryl Phipps, also with the PTA, joined Bramble on the Senate floor Wednesday to express support for the changes. Now the bill simply requires schools to give all parent groups equal access.

"We really believe it would have hurt parental involvement in the state were the PTA not allowed to function because we charge dues," Simister said of the original version. "But if it truly is about equal access and that's what the bill says, then we have no problem."

Bramble said he agreed to take out the language in hopes that requiring schools to give all groups equal access would minimize problems some parents were having getting their voices heard.

"My objective all along was to find a way to give all parents an opportunity to have equal access," Bramble said.

Bramble originally decided to sponsor the bill after parents and members of PTOs, which are separate from the PTA and not affiliated with a national organization, said they were not always allowed to participate in schools in the same ways as PTA members. They didn't feel parents should have to pay dues to the PTA to be involved in decision-making and other activities at their schools.

Bramble said the compromise might not solve the dues issue for all parents, but he hopes obstacles to involvement will diminish if schools are required to give all parents equal access. "This is a healthy solution to a major part of the problem," Bramble said.

The bill now awaits hearing on the Senate floor.