House Bill 148, the school vouchers bill, has passed through committee and is expected to be approved in both the House and the Senate. Those intimately familiar with the school system (more than just having kids in the public school system) are overwhelmingly opposed to this bill, while parents on the left seem to be pretty evenly split.

Because I don’t have kids and can only look at the whole issue from a distance, I’ll leave my commentary out of this post except to say that on the surface it seems like a way for our legislature to say they’re doing something for education, while at the same time giving a gift to the businesses that will run these private schools.

There are some good discussions over at Politicopia.com, though mostly for school vouchers. There is a PDF voucher letter from Kim Burningham at the Utah State Board of Education that reads in part:

It’s a good read and Kim makes a good, objective case. Rep Steve Urquhart, the sponsor of the bill, responds to Kim’s letter with no small amount of emotion.

Today there will be a Concerned Citizens and Taxpayers Press Conference on Vouchers:

If you have any interest in the direction of this bill and can make it to this press conference, talk to your representatives while you’re up there and tell them what you think.