This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The House advanced a bill Wednesday night to expand online education opportunities in Utah, but not before taking out a controversial provision that could have sent some public school money to private providers.
Originally, bill SB65 would have allowed students to take online courses offered by public and private providers to be certified by the state school board, and the funding would have followed the students, instead of a local district getting all the cash for that student.
But House lawmakers voted to change the bill Wednesday to ensure that only public schools, including charter schools, would be able to receive state payment for offering online classes. The bill would also now continue funding for the Electronic High School for another year before making the school compete with other providers for dollars. And the bill would lower the amount of money that providers could receive for offering an online course from about $900 to about $700, with 50 percent of that money received upfront and 50 percent received after a student successfully completes a course.
Proponents of the bill said it will improve education for Utah students by widening opportunities to students across the state. Opponents of the bill, however, still worried about the potential cost.
The bill passed the House 48-27 and now must go back to the Senate for another vote on whether to accept the changes.