By Lisa Schencker

| The Salt Lake Tribune

A Republican lawmaker has decided to shelve a controversial bill that aims to create tuition tax credits to help struggling and low-income students attend private schools.

In recent months, many of the bill’s opponents have labeled it another school voucher piece of legislation. Bill sponsor Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said that confusion was part of the reason he decided to ask the Senate Education Committee to instead pass a new version of the bill, promising only to study the issue of how to help low-income and struggling students after the legislative session. The committee unanimously approved that bill Friday.

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"Because of the inability to communicate on a widespread basis the accuracy of what the bill does, I’ve chosen to take a full year to have this vetted in the court of public opinion and in the legislative committee interim process," Stephenson said. "If we’re going to move forward with this type of thing, we should do so having fully studied it."

Committee member Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, said the original tuition tax credit bill wouldn’t have earned enough votes to pass out of the committee.

The original bill would have allowed donors to receive tax credits for giving money to scholarship organizations. Those organizations would then have awarded scholarships to students to help them attend private schools. To qualify, students would have had to score below expected or proficient on certain tests, attended schools that had received a grade of F for two years in a row under the state’s new grading system, or come from families that made less than a certain amount of money.

A standing-room-only crowd, many of whom were teachers, attended the hearing Friday, holding signs that said, "Collaboration makes a difference for students." Many also wore buttons that said, "I [heart] teaching" and "Let’s work together."

Many who spoke at Friday’s meeting thanked lawmakers for postponing the issue.

Heidi Ross, a teacher in the Tooele School District, said the original tuition tax credit bill would have meant less money for public education.

"I already don’t have enough money for books and those kinds of things," Ross said of the original bill. "You just make my job harder."

Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh, Utah Education Association president, said the UEA was "relieved" to see the original bill pulled.

"I hope the voice of experience and professionals ... will be trusted, valued and understood," Gallagher-Fishbaugh said, referring to future study on how to help struggling students. "Organizations and individuals that are intent on privatizing our public school system are given greater standing in the eyes of some in this body at the expense of the support of the majority of students who attend our public schools."

Some also praised the new version of the bill, SB151, which would direct the Education Interim Committee to study programs in Utah and elsewhere to help students who struggle academically or come from low-income families. The bill would also direct study on whether the Carson Smith Scholarships for Students with Special Needs is sufficient to meet demand.

"I think it is really important we start addressing those students who are falling through the cracks," Thatcher said. "There are students who are not being served and to pretend otherwise is delusional and is not helping kids."

Judi Clark, executive director of Parents for Choice in Education, said her organization supports lawmakers trying to find a solution to such issues.

"We have serious issues we’re facing in our state," Clark said. "We have to prepare our students better."

lschencker@sltrib.com