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Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah Supreme Court case could redefine citizen power in Utah
The Utah Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted an extraordinary writ regarding the power of citizens to propose and pass ballot initiatives in the state. The request, asking for clarification on the state's decision, was seen as a victory for the Citizens Initiative Reform Committee, following the lieutenant governor's denial of three of the four initiatives the group had previously filed. The issue revolves around whether Utah citizens genuinely possess power equal to the legislature — as the Utah Constitution indicates — or if officials can obstruct or weaken initiatives they oppose. 'If the court rules in our favor, it finally addresses and answers the question in Gallivan v. Walker: How are the people equal to and or superior" to the state legislature, Steve Maxfield, chairman of Citizens Initiative Reform Committee, told the Deseret News. 'No way, shape, or form have we been treated like equals.' The four main citizen initiatives filed by committee aimed to bring significant changes to Utah law: Initiative and referendum rules. GRAMA (open government/public records laws). Revenue and taxation. Land use laws. According to a press release obtained by the Deseret News, each initiative 'fundamentally alter(ed) and reform(ed) how Utah's government conducts the People's business.' Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson's office only allowed one initiative to move forward, blocking three others, resulting in Citizens Initiative Reform Committee going to the Utah Supreme Court requesting the justices 'to overturn Henderson's interference, restore the timeline for all four initiatives, and pause the enactment/enforcement of any 2025 legislative bills that impact these subjects,' per the press release. Henderson's office told the Deseret News it will not comment on pending or active litigation. Utah's citizen initiative process is among the strictest in the nation. To get a law on the ballot, an individual or group must gather signatures from at least 8% of active registered voters across the state, with requirements met in at least 26 of Utah's 29 Senate districts. Maxfield stated that millions of dollars are invested in grassroots efforts to create citizen-driven action, and that Utah's initiative laws infringe on their rights as American citizens under the 14th Amendment to institute real change. 'We are aiming at a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the people's legislative power right to reform, alter or abolish the government is unfettered and unrestricted. It is my intent to force reform. If they resist, they will be abolished.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poll: Almost two-thirds of Utahns support contentious ‘Utah Fits All' school voucher program
While the fate of the Utah Fits All Scholarship program will likely be decided by the Utah Supreme Court, the divisive school voucher program appears to have fairly wide public support. In a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute Poll conducted last month, 805 Utah registered voters were asked if they support or oppose 'Utah Fits All.' Almost two-thirds — 62% — responded positively. Meanwhile, 31% voiced opposition — while 8% responded, 'Don't know.' In 2023, the Utah Legislature created the 'Utah Fits All Scholarship,' which allows parents to apply for up to $8,000 in state funding that can be used for homeschooling, to attend private school, or toward other education providers. Some have argued the scholarship takes money away from the public education system. Others say it allows parents more flexibility in determining their children's education. While over 60% of poll responders voiced some level of support for 'Utah Fits All,' only 28% said they 'strongly support' the program. The other 34% 'somewhat support' it. On the flip side, 16% of poll responders were in the 'strongly oppose' camp — just a single percentage point more than those who 'somewhat oppose' the 'Utah Fits All Scholarship' program. The results of the recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll seem to reflect the divisiveness regarding school vouchers across the country. Locally, the program has faced spirited debate at the Utah Capitol, across the opinion pages and inside the courtrooms. In 2023, the state was sued by the Utah Education Association and several individual plaintiffs after the school voucher program was enacted — giving eligible K-12 students up to $8,000 a year for private school tuition and other costs. Utah Fits All went into effect last fall. The teachers union and its fellow petitioners argued that the program violated the Utah Constitution because it diverts income tax revenue to fund private schools. In April, 3rd District Judge Laura Scott ruled that the school voucher program currently being utilized by thousands of Utah children was, indeed, unconstitutional. The judge said that because the Utah Fits All program is created by the Legislature and a publicly funded educational program, it must satisfy the constitutional requirements applicable to the 'public education system' set forth in the Utah Constitution. The Legislature, added Scott, does not have the authority 'to circumvent these constitutional requirements by simply declining to 'designate' the program as part of the public education system.' The judge agreed with the union and other plaintiffs in her April ruling, saying the program violated sections of the state Constitution that require the state to fund a public education system open to every student that is free of charge, and to use state income tax to fund public schools and to support children and people with disabilities. Proponents of the program had argued the program did not affect the state's system of public schools, but was in addition to that constitutional requirement, and that it cleared the bar of using income tax to support children. Scott would later rule that the school voucher program could continue pending the expected defendants' appeal before the Utah Supreme Court. The judge also ruled, in May, on a couple of outstanding 'claims for relief' issued by the plaintiffs. Scott's follow-up actions essentially allowed the defendants in the case against Utah Fits All — which includes Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown — to move forward with the appeals process. Since last month, the Utah Fits All Scholarship program has been administered by Odyssey, a national technology company. During this year's Utah legislative session, some new funding guidelines and accountability guardrails were put in place under HB455. Homeschooled 'Utah Fits All' students 5 to 11 years old will have access to $4,000 a year, while those 12 to 18 years old will get $6,000. Private school students are still eligible for $8,000 a year, the previous amount available to all. The new law also limits extracurricular expenses to 20% of the scholarship amount and limits physical education expenses to an additional 20%.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge rules on outstanding matters in Utah school choice legal battle — clearing way for appeals
In the ongoing legal battle to decide the fate of the Utah Fits All Scholarship program, a judge Monday ruled on a pair of outstanding issues that were preventing the case from moving on to the expected appeals process. Last month, 3rd District Judge Laura Scott ruled that the divisive school voucher program currently being utilized by thousands of Utah children was unconstitutional. In her April 18 decision against the program, Scott said that because the Utah Fits All program is created by the Legislature and a publicly funded educational program, it must satisfy the constitutional requirements applicable to the 'public education system' set forth in the Utah Constitution. The Legislature, added Scott, does not have the authority 'to circumvent these constitutional requirements by simply declining to 'designate' the program as part of the public education system.' A few days later, Scott decided the school voucher program could continue pending the expected defendants' appeal before the Utah Supreme Court. On Monday, Scott ruled on a couple of outstanding 'claims for relief' issued by the lawsuit's group plaintiffs that includes the Utah Education Association and several individuals. 'Given its ruling that the Program is unconstitutional under article X and article XIII of the Utah Constitution, the court concludes that Plaintiffs' Third Claim for Relief and Fourth Claim for Relief are moot,' wrote the judge in her ruling. However, Scott still opted to formally rule Monday on the two claims that she did not address last month 'for purposes of completeness for appeal.' In other words, the defendants in the case against the school voucher program — which includes Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown — can now move forward with the appeals process. The two outstanding plaintiff claims focused primarily on the legality of the Utah Fits All Scholarship program being managed and overseen by private entities. Scott dismissed both claims Monday after articulating lengthy legal analysis in her ruling. 'The court concludes that these claims are not independent and/or alternative grounds for declaring the Program unconstitutional,' the judge wrote. 'Accordingly, the court dismisses Plaintiffs' Third and Fourth Claims for Relief.' The state was sued by the Utah Education Association, along with plaintiffs Kevin Labresh, Terra Cooper, Amy Barton and Carol Lear, in 2023, after the school voucher program was enacted. The Utah Fits All Scholarship program gives eligible K-12 students up to $8,000 a year for private school tuition and other costs. It went into effect in the fall of 2024. The teachers union argued the program violated the Utah Constitution because it diverts income tax revenue to fund private schools. Scott agreed with the union and other plaintiffs in last month's ruling, saying the program violated sections of the state Constitution that require the state to fund a public education system open to every student that is free of charge, and to use state income tax to fund public schools and to support children and people with disabilities. Proponents of the program argued the program did not affect the state's system of public schools, but was in addition to that constitutional requirement, and that it cleared the bar of using income tax to support children. Scott's ruling Monday on the two previously outstanding plaintiffs' claims comes days after the state filed an unopposed petition for permission 'to file interlocutory appeal' with the Utah Supreme Court. The petition revealed the urgency likely shared by both parties to move the case forward through the legal process for final disposition. 'While the district court said it would decide Plaintiffs' third and fourth claims in the near future, the case will still not be final and eligible for direct appeal until the lower court orders relief,' read the petition. 'And no party wants that to happen yet — before this Court can review and decide the merits — given the stakes of enjoining the Program: stopping educational benefits for thousands of Utah children and voiding part of teacher salary raises.' Scott's ruling Monday essentially addresses the issues raised in the interlocutory appeal, pending a response from the Utah Supreme Court.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah voucher law found unconstitutional. Idaho's law is also vulnerable.
A classroom at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in South Salt Lake is pictured on March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) A district judge in Utah issued a marvelous decision on April 18, finding Utah's school voucher law to be unconstitutional. The 60-page decision was based on a variety of constitutional flaws that the Utah law shares with Idaho's recently-enacted education tax credit law. The Utah law was enacted in 2023 with $42.5 million in state funds. State funding increased by $40 million in each of the next two years. The Utah judge said the Utah Constitution gives 'a direct command to the legislature to perform a single duty: establish and maintain the state's education systems.'' The judge continued, 'This clear expression of one duty — coupled with the absence of any general duty to provide for the education or intellectual improvement of Utahns — impliedly restricts the legislature from creating a publicly funded school or education program outside of the public school system.' In other words, Utah's Legislature is restricted from using public funds to support any form of private education. Of interest is the fact that every member of the Idaho Legislature was sent a 'Legislative Alert' on the first day of the 2025 legislative session, warning that any scheme to use taxpayer money for private education would be violative of the Idaho Constitution in a number of respects. The alert was provided by The Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution, a group that participated in the successful lawsuit to overturn the restrictive initiative law enacted in 2021. The alert identified the same constitutional flaw focused upon by the Utah judge — that Idaho's Constitution prohibits the funding of private and parochial education. That has been the law of Idaho ever since statehood in 1890. The alert spelled out several other constitutional infirmities that any voucher scheme would entail, including a deliberate transgression of Idaho's strong prohibition against state support for religious education, discrimination against rural kids and Idaho religions that don't operate parochial schools, lack of accountability for taxpayer money expended on private schooling, and diminution of state money necessary to support Idaho's public school system, which has been chronically underfunded for decades. The Utah judge's decision mentioned a number of other infirmities in the Utah law — private schools often exclude students with special needs, or condition admission upon adherence to certain religious beliefs, or fail to provide 'free' schooling as constitutionally required for taxpayer-supported education. These flaws are also inherent in House Bill 93, the subsidy bill approved by the Legislature this year. The Idaho Legislature was clearly warned of the serious constitutional problems with House Bill 93, which will subsidize private and parochial education to the tune of $50 million in just the first year. Yet, because of massive funding from out-of-state groups that are seeking to weaken public schools across the nation, a majority of our legislators cast aside the Constitution and passed the subsidy bill. The governor lacked the courage to veto the legislation, despite overwhelming public outcry against it. Now, as with the similar travesty in Utah, concerned Idahoans will have to resort to the courts in order to protect the wishes of Idaho's constitutional drafters. Please stay tuned. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah school choice program will keep running pending Supreme Court appeal
SALT LAKE CITY — A judge on Wednesday decided Utah's school voucher program will continue pending an expected appeal before the Utah Supreme Court. During a hearing, 3rd District Judge Laura Scott said she would not put the 'Utah Fits All' scholarship program on hold after ruling last week that it was unconstitutional. She noted that since the state plans to quickly appeal her decision, she will not enter an injunction that would halt the program. 'That would mean things would just proceed as normal unless and until we have a decision by the Supreme Court,' Scott said. The Legislature created the 'Utah Fits All' scholarship in 2023 through the passing of HB215, tying it to a $6,000 pay raise for educators. A similar proposal a year earlier had failed soundly without a raise attached to it. Under the program, K-12 students can receive up to $8,000 a year to pay private school expenses or cover homeschooling costs. The Utah Education Association and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit last year, arguing the program diverts income tax revenues away from public schools to pay for tuition and other expenses at 'exclusive, admissions-based private schools.' Scott agreed, writing in her ruling last week that the publicly funded program must meet the requirements in the Utah Constitution, and that the Legislature does not have the authority 'to circumvent these constitutional requirements by simply declining to 'designate' the program as part of the public education system.' After the hearing, Utah Parents United President Corinne Johnson said the decision to keep the program going gives parents reassurance as they look ahead to the next school year. 'We believe parents do have the right to educate their children, whether that's a homeschool, a micro-school, a private school, and that the Utah Fits All is the vehicle to do that,' Johnson said. 'We are sure that this will be overturned in an appeal, and now they have the stability to move forward.' Renée Pinkney, president of the Utah Education Association, said the judge's decision affirms that the Legislature must 'follow the Utah Constitution and public money belongs in public schools,' adding she's confident the ruling that deemed the program unconstitutional will be upheld. 'In the meantime, the plaintiffs agreed to allow public funds already allocated under the program to remain in place until the Utah Supreme Court issues a final ruling. This approach prevents immediate disruption for private and homeschool students and ensures public school educators continue receiving the pay increase tied to the program,' Pinkney said in a statement. 'Every child in Utah, regardless of ZIP code or background, deserves access to a safe, inclusive neighborhood public school fully staffed with dedicated educators and equipped with the resources they need to thrive. We will continue standing up for students, enforcing the Constitution, and ensuring that public dollars stay in public schools where they belong,' Pinkney continued. Meanwhile, with the program still running, applications for the 'Utah Fits All' scholarship for the upcoming school year are being accepted through Thursday.
