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A proposal to give tax credits to Utahns who help students attend private schools drew mixed reaction at the Capitol on Wednesday, with some lawmakers praising the idea as a way to help struggling students and others calling it a potential drain on public schools.
And freshman Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, announced that he hopes to run a bill this session based on an idea supported by the state school board to, among other things, limit the length of teacher contracts to five years at a time. But lawmakers, who ran short on time Wednesday, won't discuss that idea more until next month, at the earliest.
At a legislative interim meeting Wednesday lawmakers did, however, discuss Sen. Howard Stephenson's plan to run a bill this coming legislative session to create what he's calling Student Opportunity Scholarships. The idea is that corporations or individuals could donate money to scholarship organizations, which would then give money to academically struggling or poor students to attend private schools. Those who donate money would get tax credits for the full amount of their donations, up to $1,000 for a couple filing jointly.
Under the proposal, students would be eligible for scholarships if they come from low-income families; score below expected reading levels at the end of first or second grades; score below proficient on statewide tests in math or language arts in third through 11th grades; or go to schools earning F grades for two consecutive years under a new school grading system taking effect next year. Scholarships would be worth a maximum of $5,500 each.
"I realize this is a controversial issue, but I do believe with all my heart that these children at the left of the bell-shaped curve deserve better than they're getting," said Stephenson, R-Draper, referring to low-performing students. He said it could benefit public school teachers because they wouldn't have to spend as much time focusing on struggling students.
Some have labeled Stephenson's proposal as another effort to implement school vouchers, but he reiterated Wednesday that's not the case. Lawmakers attempted to implement school vouchers for private schools several years ago, but Utahns voted the measure down in a 2007 referendum.
"This is clearly not a voucher," Stephenson said. "I do not want a voucher. I think the public has spoken."
But some lawmakers still criticized the proposal Wednesday.
Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, said she'd like to help struggling students by putting more focus on public, neighborhood schools.
She said if the state could put funding into "having someone in that classroom that can help work with that student to bring up the lower level of the students that are struggling, that need that help, then we don't need to think about the possibility of pulling them out for 11 years." One proposed provision says that a student who gets the scholarship one year would automatically be eligible for it the next.
Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, also expressed concerns, including that private schools, which are not accountable to the state, might not necessarily do a better job than public ones.
Some lawmakers worried the scholarships could be a drain on the public school system because Utah public schools are funded largely by income tax revenue. If people get income tax credits for contributing to a scholarship fund, that could mean less money for public schools, they said.
Morgan said Utah public schools can't afford to lose more money.
Stephenson, however, said during the first year of the program, total available tax credits would be capped at $5 million.
Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, called the scholarship proposal "tremendous" and said $5 million is a reasonable starting amount. "It's directed to a population that needs more empowerment, because this is an empowerment for parents," he said.
And Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said he doesn't want to see the bill characterized as "anti-public education." He said he thinks it could help public schools by decreasing the ever-growing number of students they must serve.
Stephenson said he hopes to get more input as he crafts the bill in coming months.
Osmond, who also presented his proposal Wednesday, said he too plans to get more input over coming months, including at town halls to be held in November. His proposal would eliminate current laws that some say make it difficult to fire teachers, instead leaving the firing process up to school districts. The proposal also would limit the length of contracts awarded to teachers to five years, and at the end of those five years a district could either award a teacher another contract or fire the teacher without providing cause.
Under current law, after three to five years in the classroom, Utah teachers may attain career status, which means they can still be fired but only after due process.
Osmond also would like to see teachers earn money based on market demand, years of experience, school location, job difficulty and performance. By 2014, at least 5 percent of teachers' compensation would be based on their impact on student performance, under the proposal. Now, teachers are paid based on experience and education levels.
Experienced teachers who already have career-status would be allowed to opt-out of the new contract system for 10 years but would not be eligible for performance pay, he said.
Osmond said he is working in partnership with the state school board, which voted 9-3 in September to support the idea of eliminating current teacher employment laws in order to leave decisions up to districts and limiting contract lengths.
Twitter: @lschencker Education legislation
At Wednesday's Education Interim Committee meeting, lawmakers voted as a group to support two education bills addressing student testing. One bill would require school districts to give college and career readiness tests, such as the ACT or the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, and establish rules for differentiated diplomas. Another bill would require school districts to give computer-adaptive tests, which adapt to students' abilities as they take them, starting in 2014. The bills still must be considered during the general session.