1. (1) "Small school" means, for purposes of this section, a public high school with a student population of less than 1,000 students and at least one student enrolled in grades 9-12.

2. (2) The Superintendent shall incentivize SOEP use for small schools through funding available for the purpose based on the demonstrated inability of eligible schools to provide depth and range in:

   1. (a) Career and Technical Education pathways;
   2. (b) Advanced Placement and other advanced coursework;
   3. (c) foundation, applied and advanced courses enabling students to move forward in technology-intensive paths requiring an educator with advanced license or endorsement areas; and established facilities and programs.

3. (3)(a) The Superintendent shall determine eligibility using end of year UTREx data from the prior year.

   1. (b) The Superintendent shall determine funding and distributions, with annual adjustments, based on an assessment of demonstrated inability to provide needed courses due to:

      1. (i) insufficient student enrollment to justify full course selections;
      2. (ii) geographic isolation from qualified instructors;
      3. (iii) limited staff capacity to teach courses;
      4. (iv) financial constraints in hiring qualified educators; or
      5. (v) other similar factors limiting a school's ability to meet student needs in areas specified in this section.

4. (4) The Superintendent shall prioritize funding to eligible schools using the following funding tiers:

   1. (a) A Tier One school:

      1. (i) is eligible for Title I funding in the current or previous school year;
      2. (ii) is located within an area within National Center for Education Statistics locale code of 33 or higher;
      3. (iii) is located within a school district in a county of the fourth, fifth, or sixth class as described in Section 17-50-501;
      4. (iv) demonstrates a high average cost of providing educational services relative to larger school districts due to location factors;
      5. (v) does not serve students online; and
      6. (vi) is not a specialty, technical, or alternative school.

   2. (b) A Tier Two School:

      1. (i) is located within an area within National Center for Education Statistics locale code of 33 or higher;
      2. (ii) is located within a school district in a county of the fourth, fifth, or sixth class as described in Section 17-50-501;
      3. (iii) demonstrates a high average cost of providing educational services relative to larger school districts due to location factors;
      4. (iv) does not serve students online; and
      5. (v) is not a specialty, technical, or alternative school.

   3. (c) A Tier Three School:

      1. (i) is located within a school district in a county of the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class as described in Section 17-50-501;
      2. (ii) demonstrates a high average cost of providing educational services relative to larger school districts due to location factors;
      3. (iii) does not serve students online; and
      4. (iv) is not a specialty, technical, or alternative school.

   4. (d) A Tier Four School:

      1. (i) is operated by the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
      2. (ii) is located within a school district in a county of the fourth, fifth, or sixth class as described in Section 17-50-501;
      3. (iii) demonstrates a high average cost of providing educational services relative to larger school districts due to location factors;
      4. (iv) does not serve students online; and
      5. (v) is not a specialty, technical, or alternative school.

   5. (e) A Tier Five School:

      1. (i) is located within an area within National Center for Education Statistics locale code of 33 or higher;
      2. (ii) does not serve students online; and
      3. (iii) is not a specialty, technical, or alternative school.
   6. (f) A Tier Six school is any small school that does not meet the criteria of Tiers One through Five.

5. (5)(a) Subject to legislative appropriations, a school designed as Tiers One, Two, or Three will receive a monthly offset to cover course fees deducted from the school's Minimum School Program allocation.

   1. (b) After May 1 annually, if all obligations to schools under Subsection (5)(a) are met, a school designated as Tiers Four, Five, or Six may receive funds on a prorated basis, by tier, to cover course fees previously deducted from the school's Minimum School Program allocation.

KEY: statewide online education program

Date of Last Change: March 10, 2026

Notice of Continuation: January 13, 2022

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: Art X Sec 3; 53F-4-510; 53F-4-514; 53E-3-401