Originally published in Utah Policy.

This year, Utah legislators made noteworthy improvements in education policy while elevating parents’ rights and supporting public schools – accomplishments for which they should be applauded. Yet, the legislature missed two opportunities to advance parent-focused public education reforms that the evidence suggests are essential to Utah’s education vision. Between now and the 2026 session, legislators should explore improvements to open enrollment transparency for parents and find innovative ways to increase parent access to classroom curriculum.

Broadly speaking, the 2025 legislative session was a win for Utah students and parents.

The legislature passed a much-needed bill to refresh civics education. The bill increases social studies graduation requirements, creates a one-credit civics course focusing on primary documents, and eliminates the civics test. Sutherland Institute has done extensive research on improving civics education in recent years and, as a result, supported this bill this session.

Legislators also approved significant changes to the Utah Fits All Scholarship program and added another $40 million ongoing (about $120 million overall) to meet demand for the state’s newest private and home-based education program. Sutherland Institute has advocated for increasing funds for this program since its creation.

The legislature increased the Weighted Pupil Unit (the basic formula for funding schools) by 4%, gave public school teachers a pay raise, and provided bonuses for support staff, strengthening the system where most Utah students enroll.

These steps and others that the legislature took are important, but there is still work to be done on open enrollment and curriculum access.

A recent Sutherland Institute report on open enrollment found that almost half of Utah school districts are not complying with state law requiring certain key pieces of enrollment information to be posted on district websites.

Of 41 school districts in the state, only seven offer a complete open enrollment “capacity report” (as we called it) as outlined by law, 14 provide a partial report, and 20 don’t have the information posted online.

Recent Sutherland Institute/Y2 Analytics data shows that most (78%) Utah voters support increasing the transparency of district open enrollment information. Majority support was consistent regardless of gender, age, or political group breakdowns.

There’s also space for Utah to add a layer of data transparency so policymakers and the public can better understand open enrollment data from the statewide perspective.

Utah law should explicitly prohibit address discrimination, adding it to the list of reasons that cannot be considered when accepting or rejecting student applications from a nonresident school or district. Utah law should also require districts to supply parents with a reason for denial if their student is not accepted during the open enrollment process.

Having clearer, more transparent information and processes helps parents in their role as primary decision-makers in their child’s education.

In addition to more transparency on open enrollment, parents need easier ways to access learning materials in the classroom.

This year, the House Education Committee failed to pass out a pilot program that would have offered teachers incentives to share more about their classroom-specific curriculum with parents. Recent Sutherland Institute/Y2 Analytics data on parent access to curriculum shows that Utah parents and teachers perceive access to curriculum very differently despite many important laws being passed in recent years on curriculum transparency.

While 55% of Utah teachers say they believe instructional materials and curriculum are extremely or very accessible to parents, only 16% of parents feel the same. While 68% of Utah teachers are somewhat or extremely satisfied with Canvas as a tool for accessing classroom curriculum, only 26% of parents feel this way.

These perception gaps could be due to limited information shared with parents, a lack of parental motivation, or other hurdles. That’s what the pilot would have assessed.

Likewise, when teachers self-reported how frequently they share certain information with parents, a significant percentage said they do not offer it consistently. According to the data, 67% of teachers say they sometimes, rarely, or never share each week’s materials before it’s taught; 47% say they sometimes, rarely, or never share the full list of topics with parents before or at the beginning of class; and 40% say they sometimes, rarely, or never post instructional materials on a program such as Canvas to give parents access. The pilot could have also uncovered ways to expand teacher capacity to provide this openness.

As legislators turn to the interim session and prepare for 2026, elevating parents’ role in education through better open enrollment transparency and easier access to classroom materials should top the list of education priorities. Doing so will ensure that Utah continues to advance the most parent-friendly policies possible in 2026.