Utah House approves third substitute of HB 2 15, creating 'Utah Fits All' scholarships and teacher pay increase

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House of Representatives passed the third substitute for House Bill 2 15 on Jan. 20, 2023, approving a package that increases teacher compensation and establishes the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program to provide education funds to families. The bill passed the House 54 yeas to 20 nays and will be forwarded to the Senate.

Sponsor Representative Candace Perucci told colleagues the substitute makes three principal changes: enabling partial scholarships for students who split time between local education agencies and home or private schooling; holding the appropriated amount at $42,000,000 by removing a component of WPU growth; and requiring scholarship recipients to submit a portfolio or opt into a standardized assessment. "It gives a $6,000 compensation increase directly to teachers," Perucci said, and described the scholarship as usable for curriculum, tutoring, micro-school teacher salaries and private tuition.

Perucci described program administration and protections in detail, saying a program managing entity would be selected through the state procurement process, "the contract has to be public," and the entity will be audited annually and report back to the education committee. She said the bill preserves private-school and homeschool autonomy and prohibits the program manager from guiding curriculum or sharing individualized student data.

Backers emphasized teacher retention and parental choice. Representative Val Peterson urged members to consider expanded learning opportunities and noted the bill also aims to fund teachers more reliably. Representative Dan Johnson, who co-chaired the committee, said the proposals include guardrails and called for colleagues to "give this a consideration." Representative Lisonbee said the bill was vetted and urged support for both teacher pay and parental choice.

Opponents and wary members pressed multiple concerns. Representative Carol Moss, a public educator, said teachers "feel devalued by this" and objected to tying a pay increase to a school-choice program; Representative Albrecht and others warned that many rural districts lack private schools and reliable transportation, limiting meaningful access for some students. Representative Wheatley argued the change was "not a tweak" but a major shift that could direct public taxes to religious institutions and private providers.

Lawmakers debated a procedural move and a separate sixth substitute that would have removed the teacher-pay portion and left only the scholarship; Representative Romero moved for that substitute, arguing the issues should be considered separately. The motion to adopt the sixth substitute failed after members invoked the previous question to end debate.

Questions about oversight and fraud prevention were raised and addressed on the floor. When Representative Welton asked how the scholarship amount was calculated, Perucci said legislators combined local per-pupil averages and the WPU to reach roughly $8,000 as the approximate scholarship figure and noted no federal dollars would be used. Members also pressed the sponsor on how the program manager would be selected and constrained; Perucci reiterated procurement rules, contract transparency, prohibitions on international affiliations and data-harvesting, and regular audits.

The third substitute passed the House on a roll-call count of 54 yeas and 20 nays. The bill now moves to the Utah Senate for further consideration. No final implementation dates or funding sunsets were specified on the floor.

—Reporting by the House floor transcript; next step: Senate committee consideration.