Utah House Passes H.B. 455S2: What the Scholarship Changes Mean for You

This morning H.B.455S2 went public and was subsequently passed on the floor of the House of Representatives. The changes are substantial and we know you have lots of questions about what these changes mean to your family. We wanted to get the latest information to you asap to digest and review. Below are some resources to assist you as you research the current version of the bill.

Substitute 2 passed with 69 yeas, 0 nays, and 6 N/V

Visit the general page for H.B. 455 Utah Fits All Scholarship Program Amendments to follow the progress and find all versions, status, hearings and debates.

We’ve highlighted some of the biggest changes in Substitute 2, and below that we also included the list of changes we previously shared from Substitute 1 for your review.

New Highlighted Changes In H.B. 455 Substitute 2 

• ✅ A program manager shall give an enrollment preference based on the following order of preference to an eligible student:
  • ➡️ who used a scholarship account in the previous school year
  • ➡️ who did not use a scholarship account in the previous school year; and with a family income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level
  • ➡️ who is a sibling of an eligible student
  • ➡️ for any remaining scholarships
• ✅ A scholarship student is eligible for no more than:
  • ➡️ for a private school student, $8,000
  • ➡️ for a student ages 5-12 as of September 1 of the scholarship year, $4,000
  • ➡️ for a student ages 13-18 as of September 1 of the scholarship year, $6,000
• ✅ “Private school" means a full-time, tuition-bearing educational institution where the student receives the majority of the student's academic instruction
• ✅ Includes the following new language for what a scholarship expense includes:
  • ➡️ coursework or an educational supplement for arts and music that aligns with state core standards
  • ➡️ a musical instrument rental, excluding purchase
• ✅ Includes the following new language regarding what a scholarship expense does not include:
  • ➡️ chaperone expenses, except that a family with one or more scholarship students receiving the scholarship may use scholarship funds for one chaperone expense or pass per family, regardless of how many scholarship students are in the family or household
  • ➡️ a musical instrument
  • ➡️ apparel
• ✅ "Educational supplements" does not include:
  • ➡️ entertainment materials
  • ➡️ recreational equipment
  • ➡️ food or nutritional items
  • ➡️ furniture or household items
  • ➡️ general office supplies not specific to an educational activity
  • ➡️ other items that do not have a clear, direct educational purpose aligned with academic instruction
• ✅ Waitlisted Students: any new scholarship award made during the same year and using funds from an exited student's account shall be prorated as follows:
  • ➡️ if awarded during the second quarter of the school year, no more than 75% of the annual scholarship amount is allocated
  • ➡️ if awarded during the third quarter of the school year, no more than 50% of the annual scholarship amount is allocated
  • ➡️ no new scholarship awards shall be made during the fourth quarter of the school year
• ✅ Defines “Contracted entity” as the program manager, the financial administrator; and any other entity contracted to perform program functions
• ✅ Defines the role of “Contract administrator" as the state board's appointed Deputy Superintendent of Operations that ensures the program manager or financial administrator meets contractual obligations

Previous Changes Highlighted In H.B. 455 Substitute 1

✅ Amends the definition of the program manager, restructures management
✅ Limits extracurricular to 20% of the scholarship amount
✅ Limits physical education to 20% of the scholarship amount 
✅ Defines a list of expenses that are not included as scholarship expenses
✅ Defines Educational supplements
✅ Prohibits the program manager from charging processing fees 
✅ Allows for rollover amounts of unused scholarship awards
✅ Strengthens residency requirements and the income verification process
✅ Establishes scholarship application dates going forward beginning in 2026
✅ Establishes deadlines for scholarship acceptance or denial
✅ Scholarship funds will now be distributed in two equal payments at the beginning and second half of the scholarship year
✅ The scholarship no longer grows year over year with the CPI, but a Utah Fits All Scholarship Restricted Account is being put in place
✅ Filing a homeschool affidavit is no longer required

View the 2025 Poverty guidelines HERE to see how the income preference level raised to 300% will impact your family.

We hope this breakdown of information has been useful for you.