1     
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES AMENDMENTS

2     
2020 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Marsha Judkins

5     
Senate Sponsor: Daniel Hemmert

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends a formula related to add-on weighted pupil units for students with
10     disabilities.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     amends a formula related to add-on weighted pupil units for students with
14     disabilities;
15          ▸     removes a limit on a certain growth factor; and
16          ▸     makes technical changes.
17     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18          None
19     Other Special Clauses:
20          None
21     Utah Code Sections Affected:
22     AMENDS:
23          53F-2-307, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 186
24     

25     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
26          Section 1. Section 53F-2-307 is amended to read:
27          53F-2-307. Weighted pupil units for programs for students with disabilities --
28     Local school board allocation.
29          (1) The number of weighted pupil units for students with disabilities shall reflect the
30     direct cost of programs for those students conducted in accordance with rules established by the
31     state board.
32          (2) Disability program money allocated to school districts or charter schools is
33     restricted and shall be spent for the education of students with disabilities but may include
34     expenditures for approved programs of services conducted for certified instructional personnel
35     who have students with disabilities in their classes.
36          (3) The state board shall establish and strictly interpret definitions and provide
37     standards for determining which students have disabilities and shall assist school districts and
38     charter schools in determining the services that should be provided to students with disabilities.
39          (4) Each year the state board shall evaluate the standards and guidelines that establish
40     the identifying criteria for disability classifications to assure strict compliance with those
41     standards by the school districts and charter schools.
42          (5) (a) Money appropriated to the state board for add-on WPUs for students with
43     disabilities enrolled in regular programs shall be allocated to school districts and charter
44     schools as provided in this Subsection (5).
45          (b) The state board shall use a school district's or charter school's average number of
46     special education add-on weighted pupil units determined by the prior year's average daily
47     membership plus growth and the[ previous five year's] preceding four years' average daily
48     membership data as a foundation for the special education add-on appropriation.
49          (c) The growth factor described in Subsection (5)(b) is the percentage change in total
50     enrollment of kindergarten through grade 12 students on the first school day of October in the
51     current school year as compared to the total enrollment of kindergarten through grade 12
52     students on the first school day of October in the previous school year.
53          [(c)] (d) A school district's or charter school's special education add-on WPUs for the
54     current year may not be less than the foundation special education add-on WPUs described in
55     Subsection (5)(b).
56          [(d)] (e) Growth WPUs shall be added to the prior year special education add-on
57     WPUs, and growth WPUs shall be determined as follows:
58          (i) The special education student growth factor is calculated by comparing S-3 total
59     special education [ADM of two years] average daily membership of one year previous to the
60     current year to the S-3 total special education [ADM three] average daily membership two
61     years previous to the current year, not to exceed the official October total school district or
62     charter school growth factor from the prior year.
63          [(ii) When calculating and applying the growth factor, a school district's S-3 total
64     special education ADM for a given year is limited to 12.18% of the school district's S-3 total
65     student ADM for the same year.]
66          [(iii)] (ii) Growth ADMs are calculated by applying the growth factor to the S-3 total
67     special education [ADM of two years] average daily membership of one year previous to the
68     current year.
69          [(iv)] (iii) Growth ADMs for each school district or each charter school are multiplied
70     by 1.53 weighted pupil units and added to the prior year special education add-on WPU to
71     determine each school district's or each charter school's total allocation.
72          (6) If money appropriated under this chapter for programs for students with disabilities
73     does not meet the costs of school districts and charter schools for those programs, each school
74     district and each charter school shall first receive the amount generated for each student with a
75     disability under the basic program.