Agency: State Board of Education

Line Item: Educator Licensing

Function

Through the Educator Licensing and Professional Practices Act, the Legislature established that 'the high quality of teachers is absolutely essential to enhance student achievement and to assure education excellence in each classroom in the state's public schools.'

In the 2004 General Session, the Legislature passed intent language that requested the State Board of Education submit an educator licensing fee plan that provided enough revenue to support the costs of the USOE-Educator Licensing Section. Since this time, the fee schedule has been updated on an annual basis to reflect the costs of the program and, thus, reduce the need for any state appropriation for administration.

In the 2007 General Session, the Legislature moved educator licensing into its own line item. This line item contains all revenue from teacher licensing fees deposited into the Professional Practices Restricted Account. In addition to creation of the line item, all FTEs associated with this program were moved from the Law, Legislation, and Education line item.

This move requires the Educator Licensing section at the Utah State Office of Education to operate exclusively from fee revenue generated through the licensing process. A separate line-item also prohibits the USOE from supplementing the operation of the division with state revenues, or other revenues available to the agency. In the coming years, the schedule of fees charged to educators in order to obtain licenses will likely fluctuate as the division learns how to manage operations and staff within available revenue.

Statutory Authority

The following statute establishes requirements for the State Board of Education regarding Educator Licensing Fees:

• UCA 53A-6-105
  • Establishes that the State Board of Education will levy fees for new, renewed, or reinstated licenses or endorsements for educators.
  • Requires that the Board "shall pay the expenses of issuing licenses and of Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC) operations."
  • Outlines that fee payments are credited to the Professional Practices Restricted Subfund in the Uniform School Fund and the Board shall cover the costs of collecting license fees from the restricted subfund.
  • Requires submission of an annual report to the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee detailing the fund, fees assessed and collected, and expenditures.

Special Funds

The Educator Licensing section at USOE receives restricted Uniform School Funds from the Professional Practices Restricted Subfund. Fees paid by educators to be licensed in Utah under UCA 53A-6-105 are deposited in the Professional Practices Restricted account. Funding generated through licensing fees supports the operations of processing educator licenses and the Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission.

Funding Detail

The table below provides the initial budget of the Educator Licensing line item. In FY 2009, the Legislature appropriated a total of over $1.4 million in restricted revenue to support the operations of the division. Although the division was a part of the USOE during FY 2007, the USOE submitted a final budget with the division separated from the other USOE operating divisions. Prior to FY 2008, the majority of educator licensing fee revenue was classified as 'dedicated credits' and not USFR-Professional Practices revenue.