Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind Amendments

39
53E-1-203
53E-8-102
53E-8-201
53E-8-204
53E-8-205
53E-8-206
53E-8-207
53E-8-401
53E-8-407
53E-8-410
53E-1-203
53E-8-102
53E-8-201
53E-8-204
53E-8-205
53E-8-206
53E-8-207
53E-8-401
53E-8-407
53E-8-410
0
Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Stephen L. Whyte
Senate Sponsor: John D. Johnson
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses the mission, governance, and operation of the Utah Schools for the Deaf
and the Blind.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
amends the mission and role of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB);
addresses the educational and financial relationship between USDB and a student's local
education agency (LEA) of record;
modifies the appointment of the USDB superintendent;
amends provisions regarding the role of the State Board of Education (state board) in
relation to USDB;
enacts requirements regarding USDB capital facilities;
enacts provisions regarding the role of USDB's advisory council;
requires USDB to count students receiving services from USDB;
requires the state board to ensure and report on certain data;
requires state involvement in an eligibility determination for USDB to replace a student's
LEA of record as the student's designated LEA;
requires certain consideration of shared or colocated facilities with certain school
districts; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53E-1-203
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 298, 327
53E-8-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapters 186, 314
53E-8-201
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 509
53E-8-204
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 509
53E-8-401
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 497
53E-8-407
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapters 186, 314
53E-8-410
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 314
ENACTS:
53E-8-205
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
53E-8-206
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
53E-8-207
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
53E-1-203
is amended to read:
53E-1-203
. State Superintendent's Annual Report.
(1)
The state board shall prepare and submit to the governor, the Education Interim
Committee, and the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee, by January 15 of
each year, an annual written report known as the State Superintendent's Annual Report
that includes:
(a)
the operations, activities, programs, and services of the state board;
(b)
subject to Subsection
(4)(b)
, all reports listed in Subsection
(4)(a)
; and
(c)
data on the general condition of the schools with recommendations considered
desirable for specific programs, including:
(i)
a complete statement of fund balances;
(ii)
a complete statement of revenues by fund and source;
(iii)
a complete statement of adjusted expenditures by fund, the status of bonded
indebtedness, the cost of new school plants, and school levies;
(iv)
a complete statement of state funds allocated to each school district and charter
school by source, including supplemental appropriations, and a complete
statement of expenditures by each school district and charter school, including
supplemental appropriations, by function and object as outlined in the United
States Department of Education publication "Financial Accounting for Local and
State School Systems";
(v)
a statement that includes data on:
(A)
fall enrollments;
(B)
average membership;
(C)
high school graduates;
(D)
all employees, including data reported by school districts on educator ratings
described in Section
53G-11-511
;
(E)
pupil-teacher ratios;
(F)
average class sizes;
(G)
average salaries;
(H)
applicable private school data; and
(I)
data from statewide assessments described in Section
53E-4-301
for each
school and school district;
(vi)
statistical information for each school district and charter school regarding:
(A)
student attendance by grade level;
(B)
the percentage of students chronically absent;
(C)
the percentage of student excused absences; and
(D)
the percentage of student unexcused absences;
(vii)
statistical information regarding incidents of delinquent activity in the schools,
at school-related activities, on school buses, and at school bus stops; and
(viii)
other statistical and financial information about the school system that the state
superintendent considers pertinent.
(2)
(a)
For the purposes of Subsection
(1)(c)(v)
:
(i)
the pupil-teacher ratio for a school shall be calculated by dividing the number of
students enrolled in a school by the number of full-time equivalent teachers
assigned to the school, including regular classroom teachers, school-based
specialists, and special education teachers;
(ii)
the pupil-teacher ratio for a school district shall be the median pupil-teacher ratio
of the schools within a school district;
(iii)
the pupil-teacher ratio for charter schools aggregated shall be the median
pupil-teacher ratio of charter schools in the state; and
(iv)
the pupil-teacher ratio for the state's public schools aggregated shall be the
median pupil-teacher ratio of public schools in the state.
(b)
The report shall:
(i)
include the pupil-teacher ratio for:
(A)
each school district;
(B)
the charter schools aggregated; and
(C)
the state's public schools aggregated; and
(ii)
identify a website where pupil-teacher ratios for each school in the state may be
accessed.
(3)
For each operation, activity, program, or service provided by the state board, the annual
report shall include:
(a)
a description of the operation, activity, program, or service;
(b)
data and metrics:
(i)
selected and used by the state board to measure progress, performance,
effectiveness, and scope of the operation, activity, program, or service, including
summary data; and
(ii)
that are consistent and comparable for each state operation, activity, program, or
service;
(c)
budget data, including the amount and source of funding, expenses, and allocation of
full-time employees for the operation, activity, program, or service;
(d)
historical data from previous years for comparison with data reported under
Subsections
(3)(b)
and
(c)
;
(e)
goals, challenges, and achievements related to the operation, activity, program, or
service;
(f)
relevant federal and state statutory references and requirements;
(g)
contact information of officials knowledgeable and responsible for each operation,
activity, program, or service; and
(h)
other information determined by the state board that:
(i)
may be needed, useful, or of historical significance; or
(ii)
promotes accountability and transparency for each operation, activity, program,
or service with the public and elected officials.
(4)
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection
(4)(b)
, the annual report shall also include:
(i)
the report described in Section
53E-3-507
by the state board on career and
technical education needs and program access;
(ii)
the report described in Section
53E-3-515
by the state board on the Hospitality
and Tourism Management Career and Technical Education Pilot Program;
(iii)
the report described in Section
53E-3-516
by the state board on certain incidents
that occur on school grounds;
(iv)
the report described in Section
53E-4-202
by the state board on the development
and implementation of the core standards for Utah public schools;
(v)
the report described in Section
53E-5-310
by the state board on school turnaround
and leadership development;
(vi)
the report described in Section
53E-8-204
by the state superintendent on the Utah
Schools for the Deaf and the Blind;
(vi)
(vii)
the report described in Section
53E-10-308
by the state board and Utah
Board of Higher Education on student participation in the concurrent enrollment
program;
(vii)
(viii)
the report described in Section
53F-5-506
by the state board on
information related to personalized, competency-based learning;
(viii)
(ix)
the report described in Section
53G-8-203
by the state board on LEAs'
policies and procedures related to physical restraint and interventions; and
(ix)
(x)
the report described in Section
53G-9-802
by the state board on dropout
prevention and recovery services.
(b)
The Education Interim Committee or the Public Education Appropriations
Subcommittee may request a report described in Subsection
(4)(a)
to be reported
separately from the State Superintendent's Annual Report.
(5)
The annual report shall be designed to provide clear, accurate, and accessible
information to the public, the governor, and the Legislature.
(6)
The state board shall:
(a)
submit the annual report in accordance with Section
68-3-14
; and
(b)
make the annual report, and previous annual reports, accessible to the public by
placing a link to the reports on the state board's website.
(7)
(a)
Upon request of the Education Interim Committee or Public Education
Appropriations Subcommittee, the state board shall present the State Superintendent's
Annual Report to either committee.
(b)
After submitting the State Superintendent's Annual Report in accordance with this
section, the state board may supplement the report at a later time with updated data,
information, or other materials as necessary or upon request by the governor, the
Education Interim Committee, or the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee.
Section 2. Section
53E-8-102
is amended to read:
53E-8-102
. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1)
"Advisory council" means the Advisory Council for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and
the Blind
described in Section
53E-8-206
.
(2)
"Alternate format" includes braille, audio, digital text, or large print.
(3)
"Associate superintendent" means:
(a)
the associate superintendent of the Utah School for the Deaf; or
(b)
the associate superintendent of the Utah School for the Blind.
(4)
"Blind" means:
(a)
if the person is three years of age or older but younger than 22 years of age, having a
visual impairment that, even with correction, adversely affects educational
performance or substantially limits one or more major life activities; and
(b)
if the person is younger than three years of age, having a visual impairment.
(5)
"Blindness" means an impairment in vision in which central visual acuity:
(a)
does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses; or
(b)
is accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the better eye to such a degree that
its widest diameter subtends an angle of no greater than 20 degrees.
(6)
"Cortical visual impairment" means a cortical or cerebral visual impairment:
(a)
that:
(i)
affects the visual cortex or visual tracts of the brain;
(ii)
is caused by damage to the visual pathways to the brain;
(iii)
affects a person's visual discrimination, acuity, processing, and interpretation; and
(iv)
is often present in conjunction with other disabilities or eye conditions that cause
visual impairment; and
(b)
in which the eyes and optic nerves of the affected person appear normal and the
person's pupil responses are normal.
(7)
"Deaf" means:
(a)
if the person is three years of age or older but younger than 22 years of age, having
hearing loss, whether permanent or fluctuating, that, even with amplification,
adversely affects educational performance or substantially limits one or more major
life activities; and
(b)
if the person is younger than three years of age, having hearing loss.
(8)
"Deafblind" means:
(a)
if the person is three years of age or older but younger than 22 years of age:
(i)
deaf;
(ii)
blind; and
(iii)
having hearing loss and visual impairments that cause such severe
communication and other developmental and educational needs that the person
cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for students who
are deaf or blind; or
(b)
if the person is younger than three years of age, having both hearing loss and vision
impairments that are diagnosed as provided in Section
53E-8-401
.
(9)
"Deafness" means a hearing loss so severe that the person is impaired in processing
linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification.
(10)
"Educator" means an individual who is:
(a)
licensed by the state board under Section
53E-6-201
; or
(b)
credentialed by the governing body of the individual's area of professional practice.
(11)
"Functional blindness" means a disorder in which the physical structures of the eye
may be functioning, but the person does not attend to, examine, utilize, or accurately
process visual information.
(12)
"Functional hearing loss" means a central nervous system impairment that results in
abnormal auditory perception, including an auditory processing disorder or auditory
neuropathy/dys-synchrony, in which parts of the auditory system may be functioning,
but the person does not attend to, respond to, localize, utilize, or accurately process
auditory information.
(13)
"Hard of hearing" means having a hearing loss, excluding deafness.
(14)
"Individualized education program" or "IEP" means:
(a)
a written statement for a student with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and
revised in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.
Sec. 1400 et seq.; or
(b)
an individualized family service plan developed:
(i)
for a child with a disability who is younger than three years of age; and
(ii)
in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C.
Sec. 1400 et seq.
(15)
"LEA" means a local education agency that has administrative control and direction
for public education.
(16)
"LEA of record" means the school district of residence of a student as determined
under Section
53G-6-302
.
(17)
"Low vision" means an impairment in vision in which:
(a)
visual acuity is at 20/70 or worse;
(b)
the visual field is reduced to less than 20 degrees;
(c)
even with correction, educational performance is affected; or
(d)
at least one major life activity is substantially limited.
(18)
"Parent Infant Program" means a program at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
Blind that provides services:
(a)
through an interagency agreement with the Department of Health to children younger
than three years of age who are deaf, blind, or deafblind; and
(b)
to children younger than three years of age who are deafblind through Deafblind
Services of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(19)
"Section 504" means Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
(20)
"Superintendent" means the superintendent of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
Blind.
(21)
"Visual impairment" includes partial sightedness, low vision, blindness, cortical visual
impairment, functional blindness, and degenerative conditions that lead to blindness or
severe loss of vision.
Section 3. Section
53E-8-201
is amended to read:
53E-8-201
. Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind created -- Designated LEA --
Services statewide.
(1)
The Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind is created as
a subdivision
an agency
of
the state board and a single public school agency
under a statewide, multi-campus model
that includes:
(a)
the Utah School for the Deaf;
(b)
the Utah School for the Blind;
(c)
programs for students who are deafblind; and
(d)
the Parent Infant Program.
(2)
Under the general control and supervision of the state board, consistent with the state
board's constitutional authority, the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind:
(a)
may provide
shall support LEAs statewide in fulfilling the LEA's responsibility to
provide
services to students
statewide
:
(i)
who are deaf, blind, or deafblind
, in accordance with the relevant student's IEP or
Section 504 accommodation plan
; or
(ii)
who are neither deaf, blind, nor deafblind, if allowed under rules of the state
board established
pursuant to
in accordance with
Section
53E-8-401
;

and
(b)
shall
may
serve as the designated LEA for a student and assume the responsibilities
of providing services as prescribed through the student's IEP or Section 504
accommodation plan
when
if:
(i)
the team that develops the student's IEP or Section 504 accommodation plan
determines
that the student be placed at
the student's placement;
(ii)
the LEA determines that the location of the student's placement is
the Utah
Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
.
; and
(iii)
the LEA of record and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind agree to an
educational partnership agreement through which:
(A)
the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind provide academic performance
reporting regarding the student to the LEA of record; and
(B)
the LEA of record, including the team that develops the student's IEP or
Section 504 accommodation plan, monitors the student's academic
performance through the reporting described in Subsection
(2)(b)
(ii)(A); and
(c)
may serve as the designated LEA for a student who is neither deaf, blind, nor
deafblind, in accordance with Subsection
53E-8-401(6)
.
(3)
When the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind becomes a student's designated LEA
,
under Subsection
(2)(b)
or
(2)(c)
:
(a)
the LEA of record and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind shall ensure that
all rights and requirements regarding individual student assessment, eligibility,
services, placement, and procedural safeguards provided through the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, remain in force
.
; and
(b)
in accordance with Subsection
(4)
, beginning July 1, 2027, the LEA of record shall:
(i)
count the student in the LEA's average daily membership enrollment count; and
(ii)
remit 95% of any per pupil, state, or federal funding related to the student to the
Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind for the support and maintenance of the
student's education.
(4)
Nothing in this section diminishes the responsibility of a student's LEA of record for the
education of the student as provided in
Chapter 7, Part 2, Special Education Program
.
Section 4. Section
53E-8-204
is amended to read:
53E-8-204
. Authority of the state board -- Rulemaking -- Superintendent --
Advisory council.
(1)
(a)
The state board is the governing board of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
Blind.
(b)
The state board shall, as the state board determines necessary, establish committees,
policies, or processes necessary to the function and oversight of the Utah Schools for
the Deaf and the Blind.
(2)
(a)
The state board shall

appoint a superintendent for the Utah Schools for the Deaf
and the Blind
.
(a)
With the approval of the state board, the state superintendent of public instruction
shall appoint and supervise a superintendent of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
Blind who reports directly to the state superintendent.
(b)
The state board shall make rules in accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
Administrative Rulemaking Act
, regarding the qualifications, terms of employment,
and duties of the superintendent for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(3)
The superintendent shall:
(a)
subject to the approval of the state board, appoint an associate superintendent to
administer the Utah School for the Deaf based on:
(i)
demonstrated competency as an expert educator of deaf persons; and
(ii)
knowledge of school management and the instruction of deaf persons; and
(b)
subject to the approval of the state board, appoint an associate superintendent to
administer the Utah School for the Blind based on:
(i)
demonstrated competency as an expert educator of blind persons; and
(ii)
knowledge of school management and the instruction of blind persons, including
an understanding of the unique needs and education of deafblind persons.
(4)
The state board shall:
(a)
approve the annual budget and expenditures of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
Blind;
and
(b)
administer the financial operations of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
.
;
and
(c)
oversee the capital facilities of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, in
accordance with Section
53E-8-205
.
(5)
(a)
The state
board
superintendent
shall
submit a report in accordance with Section
53E-1-201
, as part of the State Superintendent's Annual Report described in Section
53E-1-203
, report
on the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(b)
The state
board
superintendent
shall ensure that the report described in Subsection
(5)(a)
includes:
(i)
a financial report;
(ii)
a report on Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind programs and activities;
and
(iii)
a report of student academic performance
.
; and
(iv)
the student count and categorization described in Section
53E-8-207
.
Section 5. Section
53E-8-205
is enacted to read:
53E-8-205
. Capital facilities.
(1)
The state board has responsibility, in coordination with the Division of Facilities
Construction and Management, for the long-term planning, development, and oversight
of capital facilities for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(2)
The state board shall:
(a)
before seeking state funding for capital facilities or property under Section
53E-8-410

for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, in consultation with the Division of
Facilities and Construction Management, perform an exhaustive review of the
facilities of LEAs from which the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind assume
educational responsibility as the student's designated LEA, considering opportunities
for space sharing or colocation as described in Section
53E-8-410
;
(b)
after receiving and evaluating evaluations and recommendations from the Utah
Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, review capital facility funding requests in a
public meeting of the state board before submitting the request to the Legislature; and
(c)
submit any capital facilities funding requests to the Transportation and Infrastructure
Appropriations Subcommittee.
Section 6. Section
53E-8-206
is enacted to read:
53E-8-206
. Advisory council.
(1)
The following individuals comprise the advisory council of the Utah Schools for the
Deaf and the Blind:
(a)
the following members whom the state board appoints:
(i)
two members who are blind;
(ii)
two members who are deaf;
(iii)
two members who are deaf
blind or parents of a child who is deaf
blind;
(iv)
two members who have children receiving outreach services from the Utah
Schools for the Deaf and the Blind;
(v)
one parent of a child who is blind; and
(vi)
one parent of a child who is deaf; and
(b)
one non-voting member from the state board, whom the state board chair appoints.
(2)
The advisory council shall:
(a)
make recommendations to the state board regarding issues related to the Utah
Schools for the Deaf and the Blind;
(b)
serve as a school community council, as that term is defined in Section
53G-7-1202
,
for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind;
(c)
consult regarding the entrance policies and procedures described in Section
53E-8-402
; and
(d)
in accordance with Section
53E-8-407
, make recommendations regarding:
(i)
the Educational Enrichment Program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students; and
(ii)
the Educational Enrichment Program for Blind and Visually Impaired Students.
(3)
The advisory council may form subcommittees regarding the separate programs
described in Subsection
(2)(d)
.
Section 7. Section
53E-8-207
is enacted to read:
53E-8-207
. Student count -- Data -- Reporting.
(1)
The Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind shall:
(a)
on October 1 of each year, determine the number of students:
(i)
for whom the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind serves as the student's
designated LEA under Subsection
53E-8-401(1)(b)
, further categorized by the
Utah School for the Deaf and the Utah School for the Blind;
(ii)
who receive services in the student's LEA of record with support from the Utah
Schools for the Deaf and the Blind under Subsection
53E-8-401(1)(a)
;
(iii)
who receive services from both a facility that the Utah Schools for the Deaf and
the Blind operate and the student's LEA of record; and
(iv)
who participate in any other program that the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
Blind provide or facilitate; and
(b)
annually report to the state board:
(i)
the student counts described in Subsection
(1)(a)
, further categorized by eligibility
type and LEA of record;
(ii)
the type and amount or extent of services the students receive; and
(iii)
for a student with mixed services described in Subsection
(1)(a)(iii)
, the division
of the student's educational time between the service delivery systems.
(2)
The state board is responsible for the reconciliation and consistency of data from the
Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
Section 8. Section
53E-8-401
is amended to read:
53E-8-401
. Eligibility for services of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(1)
Except as provided in Subsections
(3)
, (4), and (5), an individual is eligible to receive
services of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind

:
(a)
within the individual's LEA
if the individual is:
(a)
(i)
a resident of Utah;
(b)
(ii)
younger than 22 years old;
(c)
(iii)
referred to the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind by:
(i)
(A)
the individual's school district of residence;
(ii)
(B)
a local early intervention program; or
(iii)
(C)
if the referral is consistent with the Individual with Disabilities
Education Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq., the Parent Infant Program; and
(d)
(iv)
identified as deaf, blind, or deafblind through:
(i)
(A)
the special education eligibility determination process; or
(ii)
(B)
the Section 504 eligibility determination process
.
; or
(b)
functioning as the individual's designated LEA at a facility that the Utah Schools for
the Deaf and the Blind operate if:
(i)
the individual is eligible under Subsection
(1)(a)
; and
(ii)
the individual's
LEA of record counts the student and remits associated funding to
the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in accordance with Subsection
53E-8-201(3)(b)
.
(2)
(a)
In determining eligibility for an individual who is younger than age three and is
deafblind, the following information may be used:
(i)
opthalmological and audiological documentation;
(ii)
functional vision or hearing assessments and evaluations; or
(iii)
informed clinical opinion conducted by a person with expertise in deafness,
blindness, or deafblindness.
(b)
Informed clinical opinion shall be:
(i)
included in the determination of eligibility when documentation is incomplete or
not conclusive; and
(ii)
based on pertinent records related to the individual's current health status and
medical history, an evaluation and observations of the individual's level of sensory
functioning, and the needs of the family.
(3)
(a)
A student who qualifies for special education shall have services and placement
determinations made through the IEP process.
(b)
A student who qualifies for accommodations under Section 504 shall have services
and placement determinations made through the Section 504 team process.
(4)
(a)
A nonresident may receive services of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
Blind in accordance with the rules of the state board described in Subsection
(6)
.
(b)
Notwithstanding Section
53G-7-503
, the state board shall ensure that the rules
described in Subsection
(6)
require the payment of tuition for services provided to a
nonresident.
(5)
An individual
with hearing loss
is eligible to receive services from the Utah Schools for
the Deaf and the Blind under circumstances described in Section
53E-8-408
.
(6)
In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
state board:
(a)
shall make rules that determine the eligibility of students to be served by the Utah
Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
in accordance with this chapter
; and
(b)
may make rules to allow a resident of Utah who is neither deaf, blind, nor deafblind
to receive services of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind if

:
(i)
the resident is

:
(A)
younger than 22 years old
.
; and
(B)
a direct relative of an individual who is eligible for services under Subsection
(1)
; and
(ii)
the resident's LEA of record counts the student and remits associated funding to
the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in accordance with Subsection
53E-8-201(3)(b)
.
Section 9. Section
53E-8-407
is amended to read:
53E-8-407
. Educational Enrichment Program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Students -- Enrichment Program for Blind and Visually Impaired Students -- Funding
for the programs.
(1)
As used in this s
ection, "program" means the enrichment programs this section creates.
(1)
(2)
There is established

:
(a)
the Educational Enrichment Program for Deaf
,
and
Hard of Hearing
,

Students; and
(b)
the Educational Enrichment Program for
Blind
,
and Visually Impaired Students.
(2)
(3)
The purpose of the
program
programs
is to provide opportunities that will, in a
family friendly environment, enhance the educational services required for deaf, hard of
hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind students
across the state, regardless of
participation in any program or service with the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
.
(3)
(4)
The advisory council shall make recommendations to the state board regarding the
design and implementation of the
program
programs
.
(4)
(5)
The
program
programs
shall be funded from the revenue distributed from the
permanent funds created for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
pursuant to
in
accordance with
Section 12 of the Utah Enabling Act and distributed by the director of
the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration under
Section
Sections

53C-3-103
and
53D-2-203
.
(6)
(a)
To ensure all students who qualify for the programs have an opportunity to
participate:
(i)
an LEA shall:
(A)
develop a communication plan to notify deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually
impaired, or deafblind students of opportunities the programs provide; or
(B)
provide to the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind the directory
information of each student described in Subsection
(6)(a)(i)(A)
within the
LEA; and
(ii)
the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind may only use the directory
information described in Subsection
(6)(a)(i)(B)
to notify students of opportunities
the programs provide.
(b)
A parent may opt out of the notification described in Subsection
(6)(a)
at any time.
Section 10. Section
53E-8-410
is amended to read:
53E-8-410
. School districts to provide space for programs -- Colocation.
(1)
A school district with students who reside within the school district's boundaries
and are served by the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind shall

:
(a)
make a good faith effort to provide the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind with
space required for programs offered by the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
.
;
and
(b)
enter into an agreement with the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind to
memorialize the terms of use for the space described in Subsection
(1)(a)
.
(2)
(a)
After conducting the exhaustive search described in Section
53E-8-205
, the state
board may identify a school district with a critical number of students receiving
services from the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(b)
A school district described in Subsection
(2)(a)
shall enter into an agreement to
provide a segment of school district property for the construction of a facility on or
adjacent to the property of a high school where the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the
Blind may operate as the designated LEA for students in the surrounding region near
the facility.
Section 11.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
July 1, 2026
.
3-4-26 6:28 AM