State leaders clarified confusion over a new law, religious release time and online instruction on Friday — but not before some lawmakers raised questions about why schools continue to get funding for the time students spend in seminary in the first place.

"I think this practice should be done away with," said Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, of funding schools when students are away for religious release time, "and if anything, I think the education community should just be grateful for the windfall it’s received over the years the practice was put in place."

The issue came up Friday as lawmakers and education leaders attempted to clarify confusion over a new state law that allows students to take up to two classes online not provided by their home school districts or charter schools. The home districts then must give some of the money they would normally receive — approximately $700 per student per class — to whoever is providing the online class. Also, students can’t add the online classes to an already full schedule, meaning some students must drop a class to take another online.

Here’s where seminary comes in: Last fall, Judi Clark, executive director of Parents for Choice in Education, said some students were told by their districts that seminary counted toward full enrollment. That meant students taking seminary as part of a full course load would either have to drop that or another class if they wanted to take a new online course under the law. At that time, the State Office of Education confirmed that the districts were right because under state rule, districts can continue to get money for the time students spend at seminary during the day.

In December, a legislative committee led by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, took up the issue, with Stephenson saying it concerned him "that a student would be under pressure to drop release-time seminary in order to take a class online and have that provider of the online course reimbursed." Stephenson sponsored the bill behind the new law.

On Friday, education leaders conceded during a legislative meeting that the law does not require a student taking seminary as part of a full course load to drop that or another class in order to take one online.

But State Superintendent Larry Shumway said the reversal doesn’t fit with the original premise behind the online education law — that outside online courses would replace other classes already provided by schools, creating some savings to go along with the payment to outside providers. For example, if a student drops a school math class to take one online, the school theoretically could save money by not having to teach that student. But with seminary there are no savings because the school wasn’t teaching the student during that time.

"This creates a situation now where the funding premise that was the basis of, essentially, the discussion in the session is violated," Shumway said, suggesting that maybe lawmakers should correct that..

Stephenson, however, said he disagrees and doesn’t intend to give districts more money to handle the situation.

"What that means to me ... for those students who are taking online courses, we’re no longer going to give the districts a windfall for that one-eighth [of the day] where that student is enrolled in release time seminary," Stephenson said.

Shumway responded: "Funding is tight. That’s a characterization that’s inaccurate, that there’s a windfall anywhere in our public education system."

Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, echoed Shumway’s sentiment.

"I’m bothered by this idea that there’s some sort of a windfall," Davis said. "We know we have underfunded public education in the state of Utah ... I don’t believe anyone is getting a windfall out of public education."

Madsen responded: "I don’t think we just accept because people say it, that we under-fund education. I think that’s a myth."

Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, also noted that if lawmakers are serious about pulling school funding for the time all students are in seminary, it opens the door to other questions.

"If we’re going to go down this road maybe we should be prepared to look at a policy that says release time doesn’t occur, that if you want to take religious instruction, it has to be before or after school and not have it during school," Moss said.