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Utah Fits All Scholarship Program Modifications H.B. 467 S3 Passes House Education Committee

UEFA Team
UEFA Team

This morning HB467, Utah Fits All Scholarship Program Modifications, received its first formal hearing in the House Education Committee. During the presentation, Representative Pierucci introduced a second substitute, HB467S2, making more changes specifically around the private school definition and eligibility. Most notably:

  1. Definition of a private school has been further revised
  2. Placing online private schools in the marketplace has been removed from the bill
  3. Accreditation for private schools will be required moving forward with a phase in and an accreditation work group

During the hearing a third substitute was introduced and subsequently adopted by the committee. This version changes two of the three proposed changes in HB467S2:

  1. Amends the language and timelines around accreditation
  2. Removes an accreditation work group

HB467S3 passed the committee 12-2-1 and will now move on to the House floor for debate and voting. You can view committee member votes HERE.

To summarize, Representative Pierucci introduced a second substitute that revised the definition of a private school, removed language placing online private schools in the marketplace, and added an accreditation requirement with a phased implementation and an accreditation work group. Later in the hearing, a third substitute was introduced and adopted by the committee. The adopted version retains the revised private school definition and the removal of online private schools from the marketplace, but amends the accreditation language and timelines and eliminates the proposed accreditation work group.

UEFA will continue to follow the bill throughout the entire process and keep you informed of all developments, votes, and opportunities to engage that may affect your family and your student’s scholarship.

Comprehensive description of all proposed changes in HB467

🆘  To help parents and stakeholders understand exactly what is new and changing, outlined below is a clear breakdown of the policy updates proposed to the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program. These points reflect the full scope of revisions currently under consideration in HB467, so you can see how the bill as it now stands would modify existing law and impact families and providers.

🆕 Private School Accreditation Requirements

  • Creates new private school definition for 2026-2027 requiring accreditation by approved organizations, defines accreditation, and provides timelines

🆕 Age Requirement Clarification

  • Students must be under 19 years old as of September 1

🆕 Enrollment Lottery Tier Changes: 

  • Reorders enrollment preference tiers:
    • Tier i: Returning students
    • Tier ii: Siblings of current/recent scholarship students
    • Tier iii: Low-income students (300% FPL)
    • Tier iv: Lottery for remaining scholarships

🆕 Partial Scholarship Awards for Multi-Child Households

  • New subsection establishing procedures when insufficient funds exist for all children in household

🆕 Program Manager Coordination and Oversight

  • Program manager must coordinate with Department of Operations on policy interpretations, compliance issues, and customer service standards

🆕 Enhanced Customer Service Requirements

  • New subsection requiring program manager to maintain adequate call center capacity:
    • Sufficient staffing for standard and peak enrollment periods
    • Scalability plans as enrollment grows
    • Regular capacity assessments
  • New subsection requiring continuous customer service improvement based on parent feedback

🆕 Pre-Approval Process for Scholarship Expenses

  • New subsection establishing pre-approval process:
    • Parents can submit expense requests for review before incurring expense
    • Response within 7 business days indicating approval, need for more info, or denial with explanation
    • Accessible through online portal, email, and telephone
    • Documentation of all requests and decisions maintained

🆕 Marketplace Operation Standards

  • New subsection establishing marketplace standards if program manager operates one:
    • Prices must reflect fair market value
    • Parents may purchase similar items elsewhere and seek reimbursement
    • Cannot require exclusive marketplace purchases
    • Cannot resell used or returned goods through marketplace
    • Parents can purchase used/resale items from third parties and seek reimbursement

🆕 Monthly Tuition Reimbursement Process Requirements

  • Establishes monthly tuition reimbursement for students who want to use their scholarship at private schools not approved as eligible schools
  • Details reimbursement requirements (receipt, proof of enrollment, monthly verification, 10-day processing)
  • Program manager must process reimbursements within 10 business days

🆕 Private School Consumer Protection & Transparency

For Schools with 150+ Students:

  • Written disclosures must include refund policies (refunds go to program manager, not parent) and statement that pricing/refund policies identical for scholarship vs. regular students
  • Functioning website with costs, fees, refund policies, contacts, address; report withdrawals within 5 business days; identical pricing/refund policies for all students

For Schools with <150 Students:

  • Same requirements as above

🆕 Audit/Financial Verification Simplification for Eligible Schools

  • Replaces full audit submission requirement with simple verification that audit/agreed-upon procedures was obtained and found solvency
  • Limits program manager to only verifying completion; cannot conduct, commission, or review detailed financial records

 

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