H.B. 368

1

SCHOOL FEE WAIVER AMENDMENTS
2 2008 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Jack R. Draxler
5 Senate Sponsor: ____________
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill allows the State Board of Education to distribute funds to certain school
10 districts impacted by fee waivers.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 . establishes criteria for the distribution of the funds;
14 . beginning on July 1, 2010, makes compensation for impacts of fee waivers
15 conditioned upon compliance with certain financial reporting requirements; and
16 . prescribes the amount of funds an impacted school district may receive.
17 Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
18 This bill appropriates:
19 . as an ongoing appropriation subject to future budget constraints, $1,500,000 from
20 the Uniform School Fund for fiscal year 2008-09 to the State Board of Education.
21 Other Special Clauses:
22 This bill takes effect on July 1, 2008.
23 Utah Code Sections Affected:
24 AMENDS:
25 53A-12-103, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2005, Chapter 119
26
27 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:

28 Section 1. Section 53A-12-103 is amended to read:
29 53A-12-103. Waiver of fees.
30 (1) (a) A local school board shall require, as part of an authorization granted under
31 Section 53A-12-102 , that adequate waivers or other provisions are available to ensure that no
32 student is denied the opportunity to participate because of an inability to pay the required fee,
33 deposit, or charge.
34 (b) (i) If, however, a student must repeat a course or requires remediation to advance or
35 graduate and a fee is associated with the course or the remediation program, it is presumed that
36 the student will pay the fee.
37 (ii) If the student or the student's parent or guardian is financially unable to pay the fee,
38 the board shall provide for alternatives to waiving the fee, which may include installment
39 payments and school or community service or work projects for the student.
40 (iii) In cases of extreme financial hardship or where the student has suffered a
41 long-term illness, [or] death in the family, or other major emergency and where installment
42 payments and the imposition of a service or work requirement would not be reasonable, the
43 student may receive a partial or full waiver of the fee required under Subsection (1)(b)(i).
44 (iv) The waiver provisions in Subsections (2) and (3) apply to all other fees, deposits,
45 and charges made in the secondary schools.
46 (2) (a) The board shall require each school in the district that charges a fee under this
47 chapter to provide a variety of alternatives for satisfying the fee requirement to those who
48 qualify for fee waivers, in addition to the outright waiver of the fee.
49 (b) The board shall develop and provide a list of alternatives for the schools, including
50 such options as allowing the student to provide:
51 (i) tutorial assistance to other students;
52 (ii) assistance before or after school to teachers and other school personnel on school
53 related matters; and
54 (iii) general community or home service.
55 (c) Each school may add to the list of alternatives provided by the board, subject to
56 approval by the board.
57 (3) A local school board may establish policies providing for partial fee waivers or
58 other alternatives for those students who, because of extenuating circumstances, are not in a

59 financial position to pay the entire fee.
60 (4) With regard to children who are in the custody of the Division of Child and Family
61 Services who are also eligible under Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act, local school
62 boards shall require fee waivers or alternatives in accordance with Subsections (1) through (3).
63 (5) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
64 State Board of Education shall make rules:
65 (a) requiring a parent or guardian of a student applying for a fee waiver to provide
66 documentation and certification to the school verifying:
67 (i) the student's eligibility to receive the waiver; and
68 (ii) that the alternatives for satisfying the fee requirements under Subsection (2) have
69 been complied with to the fullest extent reasonably possible according to the individual
70 circumstances of both the fee waiver applicant and the school; and
71 (b) specifying the acceptable forms of documentation for the requirement under
72 Subsection (5)(a), which shall include verification based on income tax returns or current pay
73 stubs.
74 (6) Notwithstanding the requirements under Subsection (5), a school is not required to
75 keep documentation on file after the verification is completed.
76 (7) (a) The State Board of Education shall distribute funds appropriated to compensate
77 school districts for impacts of fee waivers as provided in this Subsection (7).
78 (b) Each school district shall:
79 (i) receive:
80 (A) up to $40 per student in grades 9 through 12 granted fee waivers; and
81 (B) no more than the total actual value of the fee waivers granted by the school district;
82 and
83 (ii) transfer funds received under Subsection (7)(b)(i) to the schools that granted fee
84 waivers in proportion to the amount of granted fee waivers in each school.
85 (c) The State Board of Education shall make rules specifying procedures for the
86 application for and distribution of funds under this Subsection (7).
87 (d) Beginning on July 1, 2010, a school district or charter school may not receive a
88 distribution of funds under this Subsection (7) unless the school district or charter school
89 accounts for revenues collected and expended at the school level in accordance with rules of

90 the State Board of Education that shall:
91 (i) require that revenues collected and expended at the school level be classified in
92 accordance with a uniform chart of accounts;
93 (ii) provide for the identification of revenues from fees and how fees are expended; and
94 (iii) require that revenues collected and expended at the school level be:
95 (A) reported to the state superintendent for inclusion in the annual report of the state
96 superintendent provided by Section 53A-1-301 ; and
97 (B) included in the annual audit report required under Section 51-2a-201 .
98 Section 2. Appropriation.
99 As an ongoing appropriation subject to future budget constraints, there is appropriated
100 from the Uniform School Fund for fiscal year 2008-09, $1,500,000 to the State Board of
101 Education to distribute to school districts impacted by fee waivers as provided by Section
102 53A-12-103 .
103 Section 3. Effective date.
104 This bill takes effect on July 1, 2008.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-22-08 8:53 AM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel