Fee-waiver legislation gets preliminary Senate approval
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lou Shurtliff, D-Ogden, carries a $1.5 million price tag to reimburse schools that cover the cost of students who can't afford fees for programs from science labs to cheerleading. Some districts like Ogden and Salt Lake City report about 50 percent of their students qualify for fee waivers.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said the legislation would allow the state to step in and take the burden off some of those districts footing the bill for low-income students.
"This will ensure that those districts aren't harmed in an ongoing way because of that," Stephenson said. "This would not be a black hole or give districts a way to raise and enforce a fee."
Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, opposed the bill, saying it was bad fiscal policy.
"This is a real challenge, but I don't believe this is the way to fix it," he said.
Bramble was among only three senators opposing the legislation in Monday's vote.
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