Utah lawmakers have unanimously approved a $250,000 annual appropriation aimed at improving teacher retention on and near American Indian reservations in the state.

SB124, which seeks to encourage people living on the reservations in San Juan, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties to get teaching degrees, won final House approval Tuesday on a 68-0 vote.

“We have several schools down there and we have a real hard time with teacher retention," sponsoring Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville, said.

He explained that it’s hard to get teachers to keep working on or near reservations once they’ve paid off their student loans.

“A lot of times they have teachers come down there that would maybe be there for a year or two and when their student loans are paid off they were back to other areas," Hinkins said in an earlier Senate committee hearing.

SB124 is a continuation of legislation implemented by Hinkins and Rep. Mike Noel in 2018 that created the $250,000 annual program as a four-year pilot.

“It’s been really a good bill. It has helped a lot to have retention in those areas but it’s short-lived so it’s hard to offer a person a full-time job without it," said Hinkins.

The legislation now goes to Gov. Gary Herbert for final action.