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Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) provides specialized educational services to students who are deaf, blind, or deafblind, working alongside local school districts that remain each student's "LEA of record" (the agency legally responsible for a student's education). This bill would shift USDB's primary role from one that "may provide" services to one required to support local districts in serving these students, while still allowing USDB to serve as a student's designated educational agency under a formal partnership agreement between USDB and the district; starting July 1, 2027, when USDB takes on this role, the student's home district would count the student in its enrollment and send USDB 95% of the associated per-pupil funding. The bill also changes how USDB's superintendent is chosen — moving from direct appointment by the State Board of Education to appointment by the state superintendent of public instruction, subject to board approval, with the USDB superintendent then reporting to the state superintendent — and creates a formal advisory council with defined membership (including deaf, blind, and deafblind individuals and parents) that would weigh in on USDB policies, enrichment programs, and school community council functions. Additionally, USDB would be required to conduct annual counts of the students it serves in various capacities and report this data to the state board, while the state board would need to explore space-sharing or colocation options with local school districts before requesting new state funding for USDB facilities, and certain districts with a "critical number" of USDB-served students could be required to provide land for new USDB facilities near existing high schools.