SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers will meet this week in a special legislative session to vote on restoring more than $4.7 million for several education programs and whether to formally oppose the creation of a national monument in Utah by President Barack Obama.

It's been almost two months since Gov. Gary Herbert vetoed the line item funding, which was intended to provide supplemental money for a public preschool program called UPSTART, an intervention program for struggling readers in elementary school and a televised culinary arts program.

But the funding is expected to be fully restored Wednesday.

"The governor views that particular item as a relatively straightforward piece of the special session and expects the funding to be restored," said the governor's spokesman, Jon Cox.

The veto caught lawmakers and education leaders off guard as there was little indication of disagreement from the governor on those items during the general legislative session.

In his veto letter, however, Herbert said he worried the UPSTART program was duplicating services offered by other public preschool programs, the K-3 intervention initiative wasn't proving effective, and that the televised cooking program wasn't a worthwhile use of taxpayer dollars.

Lawmakers initially considered convening in an override session, where lawmakers are only allowed to vote up or down to uphold or undo the veto. But Herbert later said he was willing to bring the Legislature in for a special session, which gives lawmakers greater flexibility.

While UPSTART, the K-3 reading intervention program and the culinary arts program were the focus of the veto, funding is expected to be restored for all programs within the line item:

• $1.5 million for UPSTART, as well as $500,000 in federal funding.

• $275,000 for the ProStart Culinary Arts Program.

• $500,000 for an electronic elementary reading tool.

• $3 million for the K-3 early intervention reading program.

• $500,000 for a statewide IT academy curriculum.

With the funding put back in place, the governor hopes lawmakers will review each program's effectiveness.

"The governor is supportive of early education efforts by the state. And as part of that, he recognizes that we have scarce resources, and it's imperative that those funds are used as efficiently as possible," Cox said. "With the special session, the governor appreciates the Legislature's willingness to review those programs."

Veto presents opportunities

Some lawmakers were initially displeased with the governor's action, but Draper Republican Howard Stephenson, Senate chairman of the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said the veto has presented other opportunities.

"I believe it was a good thing that the governor vetoed (the education funding) because it gives us greater attention to something that I think hasn't had the attention it should have, and that is personalized learning using digital learning tools," Stephenson said.

Both UPSTART and the K-3 reading intervention program use technology to give students a more personalized learning experience. But success with technology programs requires students and teachers to follow the recommendations of each vendor. Otherwise, academic progress can be slim to none, Stephenson said.

The senator said lawmakers will take a "steely-eyed look" at each program during the interim.

"Whenever the software is deployed with fidelity, students do achieve grade level or better in their reading performance," he said. "We've agreed as a Legislature that we are going to take time between now and next session to drill down into each of these programs more deeply and find out the degree to which they should be funded."

SAGE testing

Early this month, Herbert called for the end of SAGE testing in high schools, with the possibility of putting revisions to the test on the special session agenda. That didn't happen after pushback from House leadership and concerns from education leaders about the need for more time to fully consider the impact of the change. But Herbert said he may consider another special session this year to address the test.

National monument

A resolution opposing a national monument designation in Utah under the Antiquities Act may face more debate Wednesday.

Herbert has repeatedly resisted the idea of a presidential designation, especially in response to rhetoric of a potential designation in the Bears Ears, a 1.9 million-acre plot in San Juan County. Much of the speculation was fueled by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who recently called for better inclusion of public lands and parks of more diverse groups, including Native Americans.

Jewell this summer is planning to visit Utah, among other places, to hear proposals for conserving public lands.

Herbert said Obama Cabinet members told him no national monument would be designated in Utah without an open, public process. But the fear of a designation without local input is still on the minds of state leaders, especially after the surprise designation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by former President Bill Clinton.

"They're very concerned about that possibility, and certainly legislators are as well. This is an opportunity to voice that concern," Cox said of the proposed resolution. "Some people have said, 'You all are so paranoid about this.' And the answer is: 'Yes, we are. We have reason to be paranoid given our history.'"

It's unclear whether the Legislature will endorse the resolution.

"With Native American tribes communicating as a group to us about the importance of protecting these antiquities and their historical significance, I think we may have more debate on that than we would otherwise expect," Stephenson said. "And it's not just going to be Democrats versus Republicans."

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