A task force has concluded there is enough money to provide scholarships to all those who qualify for new private-school disability vouchers. At a meeting Thursday in Cedar City, the state school board allayed fears some parents raised in June that the $2.4 million the Legislature allotted for the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship program would not be sufficient to cover all eligible students. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed the program into law in March.

As of July 12, the state had received 125 applications, Associate State Superintendent Ray Timothy said at the meeting. "Even if all those students qualified for the maximum, which we know they do not, we'd still have $1.7 million," he said "If every student who applied qualified for the maximum, we could serve 460 students."

The board extended the scholarship application deadline to July 22. It had been July 1.

Depending on the severity of a child's needs, the annual Carson Smith tuition scholarships will range from $3,450 to $5,700, while kindergartners will be allotted $1,250. The program targets children with at least one of the following disabilities: mental retardation; traumatic brain injury; autism; specific learning disabilities; serious emotional disturbance; or hearing, speech, language, visual, orthopedic or other health impairment. Five- to 8-year-olds with developmental delays also qualify.

Utah has about 52,000 special-education students in public schools. To be eligible for the scholarship, public school students must have been attending a public school during the 2004-05 academic year and have an individualized education plan. Private school students are eligible if they attended a school that provided services for special-needs students.

Thursday, board members broadened the definition of schools qualified to receive the tuition vouchers. Previously, schools had to demonstrate at least 80 percent of their enrollment was made up of special-needs students. Now, those schools may include any that employ or have contracts with teachers licensed by the state in special education.

"What we've got here is a good balance," board member Laurel Brown said. "It's broad enough so more schools can apply, but restrictive enough so we can be wise with taxpayers' money."

Brown added the point was to enhance chances that students will receive the services they need once they leave the public arena.

"We can't guarantee that; we can't tell private schools what to do," she said. "But it provides a higher possibility and gives taxpayers more assurance."

Royce Van Tassel told board members he believes the definition is now too broad. Afterward, the executive director of Education Excellence Utah said the board cannot regulate private schools beyond what is set forth in the law. "Having a special education license is nowhere in the legislation," he said.

Education Excellence Utah is a nonprofit organization that believes parents should decide where their children go to school. "The only part of the statute relating to teacher credentials requires experience, expertise or a bachelor's degree."

Van Tassel's group is considering how to challenge the board's new definition.

State Superintendent Patti Harrington conceded after the meeting that the board had not answered everyone's concerns, but was pleased with the decision to expand the special-needs eligibility definition.

"The Legislature didn't define what a school that specializes in services for students with disabilities is," she said. "That's created a conundrum and left it to the board to define it. The expanded definition is going to include more kids and it seems there's going to be enough money to cover those kids."

mcronin@sltrib.com

Nine schools approved to accept vouchers

Approved schools

Following are private school that so far meet the criteria to accept state vouchers under the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship program:

* St. Vincent de Paul School, Millcreek

* Success Point LLC, Draper

* Woodland Hills, Murray

Schools with conditional approval:

* Blessed Sacrament School, Sandy

* Cache Valley Learning Center, Logan

* Carmen B. Pingree School for Autism, Salt Lake City

* Clear Horizons Academy, Provo

* J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School, Salt Lake City

* Kearns-St. Ann School, South Salt Lake

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Salt Lake City