USEA On the Hill
Staff and Leadership are working at the Capitol during the legislative session lobbying on members behalf. Below you will find our legislative priorities, legislative tracking sheet, and updates from weekly Educator Day on the Hill hosted by the Utah Education Association (UEA). If you have questions or comments feel free to contact USEA GR Director Greg Burrow at gburrow@useaut.org
Legislative Priorities
Public Education Funding
-
Support full funding of all costs associated with new student growth for the
coming school year -
Support increased funding through the Weighted Pupil Unit to allow local school boards maximum flexibility in funding local priorities and needs, including employee
compensation and retention -
Oppose education funding allocation based on artificial benchmarks such as dollars spent
“in the classroom” -
Oppose the use of tax dollars to fund or subsidize non-public education
Student Transportation
-
Support full funding of state-law-mandated student transportation
-
Support funding assistance for districts affected by increasing fuel costs or
geographic challenges -
Support funding for local school boards to upgrade existing bus fleets for
increased efficiency -
Oppose We oppose any privatization of school district’s bus fleets, maintenance operations, or route coordinators
Living Wage Compensation
-
Support legislation that encourages the creation and preservation of classified jobs with salary, hours, and benefits adequate to allow classified employees to raise families and build careers
-
Oppose legislation that encourages local school boards to create part-time, non-
benefitted classified jobs
Child Nutrition
-
Support continued child nutrition program funding from state liquor proceeds that
guarantee students’ access to meals
Privatization and Local Control
-
Support the ability of local school boards to determine the specific needs and the best interests of their own districts, student population, and local constituencies.
-
Oppose legislation that encourages or prefers the use of private contractors to provide support functions, which experience has shown is not in the best interest of Utah
students or taxpayers
Employment
-
Support protection of adequate due process and evaluations for career classified
employees, including continued protection from termination without just cause -
Support continued development and funding of professional development opportunities
for classified employees so they can better serve our students -
Support continued improvement in providing a safe school environment for students and
employees
Updated weekly daily during the legislative session to help members keep up to date with current legislation. You can also track legislation at le.utah.gov
