AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.

The Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program, which helps families of students with disabilities pay for private school or approved educational services, would see several changes to its eligibility rules and oversight requirements under this bill. Families would no longer qualify for different scholarship amounts based on income, meaning all eligible K-12 students receive the same base award, and siblings of scholarship recipients would no longer automatically qualify for the program. The bill would require applicants to verify they primarily reside in Utah through documents such as tax records, utility bills, or a driver's license, and would let the state use tax records to help confirm residency if a family consents. It also standardizes what counts as a covered "scholarship expense" to match rules used in the similar Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, caps spending on extracurricular activities and physical education at 20% of a scholarship's total value (with an exception for physical therapy), sets new limits on when private schools and service providers can qualify to receive scholarship funds, requires organizations that administer the scholarships to conduct annual independent audits and disclose contracts and fees, and bars those organizations from charging processing fees to families.