Student count -- Data -- Reporting

(1) The Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind shall: (a) on October 1 of each year, determine the number of students: (i) for whom the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind serves as the student's designated LEA under Subsection 53E-8-401(1)(b), further categorized by the Utah School for the Deaf and the Utah School for the Blind; (ii) who receive services in the student's LEA of record with support from the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind under Subsection 53E-8-401(1)(a); (iii) who receive services from both a facility that the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind operate and the student's LEA of record; and (iv) who participate in any other program that the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind provide or facilitate; and (b) annually report to the state board: (i) the student counts described in Subsection (1)(a), further categorized by eligibility type and LEA of record; (ii) the type and amount or extent of services the students receive; and (iii) for a student with mixed services described in Subsection (1)(a)(iii), the division of the student's educational time between the service delivery systems. (2) The state board is responsible for the reconciliation and consistency of data from the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. (3) The state board shall establish student and personnel data standards for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind that: (a) provide for comparability of data with similar data elements in the public education system; and (b) support accurate and timely reporting. (4) In establishing the data standards described in Subsection (3), the state board shall: (a) adopt a centralized data management system for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind with appropriate system controls and automated data management strategies where practicable; (b) coordinate with the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind to reconcile data sources; and (c) require the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind to identify benchmarks and report relevant comparisons of assessment data in the annual report described in Subsection 53E-8-204(5). (5) On or before August 15, 2026, the state board shall report to the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee on the implementation of Subsection (3).