Latest news with #UtahFitsAll
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
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Utah Fits All administrator to rerun applications after finding inconsistencies
Students work in a math class at Wasatch Junior High School in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) The administration change of Utah Fits All, the state's school choice program has hit some road bumps. Days after the Utah State Board of Education switched managers to run the program and the application portal closed, families are learning that they may have to apply again. Odyssey, a New York-based technology company that won the bid in May to run the voucher program, announced Friday on its website that after reviewing the application data the outgoing administrator provided, it found that in many cases the information was incomplete, inconsistent, or lacked proper verification. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The company 'will need to take additional steps to ensure accuracy, consistency, and compliance with the Utah Fits All law,' Odyssey officials wrote. They said those actions include re-running applications for families participating in the second year application cycle. 'We understand that this may be frustrating, but we believe this is the best path forward to determine eligibility accurately,' company officials said. The announcement comes after the Board of Education canceled early its multiyear contract with the program's previous third-party manager ACE Scholarships, citing 'convenience' reasons. The move was made possible by a 2025 bill that, among other changes to Utah Fits All, opened the door for a switch should the Board of Education need to change its current program administrator. Utah Board of Education ends contract early with Utah Fits All administrator Odyssey officials said ACE Scholarships' previous records make it impossible to determine students' eligibility since those records only show a small percentage of second year applicants successfully completed their income verification — a step on their application that's required by law. Those eligibility determinations will be delayed past the initial May 31 deadline, according to Odyssey. However, the company hasn't set a new timeline for the new process. Reconciling scholarship balances for current Utah Fits All participants is also underway, with 'a large population for whom Odyssey cannot determine their current balance because there are thousands of pending reimbursements, receipts, and transactions, many of which were received by Odyssey as recently as May 29th.' The company won't authorize any additional spending until pending purchases undergo further analysis, according to its website. As of Thursday, Utah Fits All's website listed June 30 as the last day to use 2024-2025 funds. Among the changes to Utah Fits All the Legislature approved this year is a 20% cap on extracurricular activities and physical education, in addition to tightened expense guidelines to explicitly prohibit the use of scholarship money to pay for ski passes, furniture, musical instruments, apparel, and other uses. While lawmakers approved more money to fund additional scholarships, bringing the total annual allocation for the program to $100 million, they also voted to reduce the amount some students could receive. This year, homeschooled children of ages 5 to 11 would have access to $4,000 a year, while those aged 12 to 18 years old could get up to $6,000. That's down from the $8,000 that was allowed during the program's first year. Private school students are still eligible for $8,000 a year to help cover their tuition or other expenses. Meanwhile, Utah Fits Alls is also facing other challenges that may threaten its existence. A 3rd District Court judge recently ruled the program to be unconstitutional, a win for the Utah Education Association, the state's largest teacher union. The union sued the state for diverting 'funds from already underfunded public schools,' union leaders said. They alleged the program violates the Utah Constitution, which explicitly says income tax revenue should be used to fund public education, among a few other limited uses. State leaders said they will appeal the decision to the Utah Supreme Court. While the case plays out in court, the program will continue to operate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Opinion: What the school enrollment shift tells us about education in America
Yes, Utah is having fewer babies, down 26% over the past decade. As a former public school principal, though, I can assure you declining birth rates don't fully explain shrinking classrooms. Families aren't just having fewer kids — they're actively choosing different ways to educate them. COVID didn't start this shift. It accelerated it. Parents finally saw classrooms up close, and many didn't like the view. Yet, school districts often respond by doing nothing, watching enrollment decline until closures become inevitable. Granite School District recently announced plans to close more schools due to falling numbers. Last year, the Salt Lake School District shut down four elementary schools. And the year before that, Alpine School District faced similar closures. Where are these students going? To alternatives. Charter schools, private schools, microschools and homeschool pods are drawing families in with flexibility, personalization and often smaller environments. Homeschooling doubled in the US between 2020 and 2023. Charter schools have grown by more than 1.6 million students since 2000. Microschools are surging as well. A 2024 survey found that 37% of parents are more interested in microschools or hybrid options than they were before the pandemic. When I was a principal, one of my first graders excelled in math but lagged in reading. His father, Alex, grew frustrated with a rigid system unable to nurture his son's unique abilities. After I left public education, Alex did too. He founded Wilderland Academy, a nature-based microschool in Eden, Utah. His story isn't unusual. Across the country, parents and teachers are launching new schools rather than waiting for traditional ones to change. Stories like Alex's are multiplying. Parents and teachers aren't waiting for permission. They're creating what kids need. And it's not just about new schools. Lawmakers invested in Davis School District's Catalyst Center. The Catalyst program brings in local business and industry leaders to work with the students. It provides real-world experience in industries ranging from aviation and computer science to business, construction and digital media (YouTube). These are the kinds of public school innovations that deserve to grow. Just as a healthy forest has a variety of trees, a healthy education system has a variety of options. Policymakers should take note and find ways to continue their support of all options. To achieve this, Utah should expand the Utah Fits All scholarship so that every student who applies receives support — no lottery, no waitlist. At the same time, lawmakers should continue cutting red tape. They've made progress by allowing microschools in all zones and easing building rules. But they can continue to find these restrictions and remove them for education entrepreneurs. At the same time, they should make it easier to launch charter schools and expand innovative programs like Catalyst. The changing nature of education isn't a crisis; it's a wake-up call. As a former principal now working alongside microschool founders, I can tell you exactly what parents want: education that's more human, more personal and responsive to their kids' needs. If traditional schools refuse to adapt, Utah families will find education elsewhere.
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
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah Legislature files appeal to Utah Fits All ruling
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah State Legislature has filed a petition to appeal a lower court ruling finding the Utah Fits All Scholarship unconstitutional. In a 110-page interlocutory appeal filed to Utah's Supreme Court, the State Attorney General's office, on behalf of the State Legislature, list three reasons why the lower court decision should be overturned. These defendants claim that: First, there isn't a cap on legislative power to create educational programs, Second, the legislature wasn't required to designate Utah Fits All as an educational program by the constitution. And, Finally, voters approved to expand the use of income tax to 'supplement children,' therefore income tax can be used for Utah Fits All because it involves children. PREVIOUS: Judge finds 'Utah Fits All' scholarship unconstitutional, legislature to appeal The appeal comes after a district judge found the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program, which is a voucher program for students who go to private schools, unconstitutional due to what the court saw as a lack of constitutional authority, and additionally the programs use of income tax revenue, which is earmarked exclusively for the state's education programs. 'The legislature does not have plenary authority to circumvent these constitutional requirements by simply declining to 'designate' the program as part of the public education system. And because there is no genuine dispute that the program fails to meet these 'open to all children' and 'free' requirements, it is unconstitutional under article X of the Utah Constitution,' the lower court decision read. The state is seeking an immediate review of their appeal, arguing that the lower court's order has casted 'a shadow' over the program and all the families that currently rely on the program for their children's education. 'The district court's Order implicates the substantial rights of every Utah family with school-aged children. Without this Court's review, thousands of Utah children who currently rely on the Scholarship Program, and hundreds of thousands more who are eligible for it, will lose access to state-funded scholarships that allow them to afford educational options that best meet their needs,' the state's appeal reads. It continues, 'The Order casts a shadow over the Program—but the district court reserved entry of judgment and a permanent injunction in order to keep the Program operating so that Parents and the other Defendants can seek interlocutory review in this Court. This Court should now grant review in order to remove that shadow and provide certainty that Utah families need as they make their educational plans for the coming school year and beyond.' Currently the Utah Fits All Scholarship is still active and funds are flowing to parents in the state as litigation is ongoing. If the appeal is not taken up by the court, the lower court decision will stand, and the program's future is uncertain. However, if the Supreme Court upholds that the program is unconstitutional then the scholarship money would stop. If the lower court's decision is overturned, then the program presumably could continue. has reached out to the Attorney General's office for comment, to which they replied they do not comment on ongoing litigation. Additionally, the Utah Education Association has not yet replied to requests by This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available. Lindsay Aerts contributed to this reporting. House panel unveils tax portion of Trump agenda bill Sunny skies with well-above average temperatures this weekend Utah Legislature files appeal to Utah Fits All ruling St. George set to host final IRONMAN race this weekend Otter-ly adorable: Help name the new river otter pup at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
