1. Why do we need another education choice program?

“Education choice” is a policy objective that is on a spectrum. The effectiveness of education choice for families depends upon the number and quality of its options.  

For the same reasons we champion a family’s ability to choose a charter school that better meets the needs of students, we ought to champion a family’s ability to choose curriculum for home-school education, private school tuition, tutoring, technological support, therapies, etc., if it better meets the needs of students. 

2. Are vouchers and education savings accounts the same thing?  

No, education savings accounts and vouchers are different ways of achieving some level of education choice. Vouchers move taxpayer funds directly from the state coffers to a private school to pay for tuition. Education savings accounts put taxpayer dollars into an account for parents to use on a wider range of education options and services, including therapies, curriculum, software, tuition, exams and more.  

3. Why should Utah create Utah Fits All Scholarships when Utahns voted against vouchers in 2007?  

One feature of American democracy that makes its citizens free is that each generation has the opportunity to address policy decisions in its own way – and the people are free to change their minds with additional experience and knowledge. Since 2007, Utah has experienced the Great Recession and a global pandemic, and statewide population has increased by about one-third. A lot has changed in the past 16 years. The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, changed many parents’ desires regarding schooling – as indicated by school enrollment data in recent years.  

Given the number of new people living in Utah since 2007 and the additional knowledge gained by the people about public education during the pandemic, it is reasonable to revisit important education issues in 2023 such as education choice and teacher pay.

4. Who will Utah Fits Scholarships help?

HB 215 is specifically designed to assist low- and middle-income families before other applicants. Low-income to middle-income families (e.g., a family of five making less than $70,280 in 2023) are prioritized first. Middle-income to upper-middle-income families (e.g., a family of five making between $70,280 and $195,027 in 2023) are prioritized second. Students already in the program or those with siblings in the program also receive priority to help families with continuity. Because wealthy families are among those who already have education choice through their own means, particularly when it comes to private and at-home education options, HB 215 prioritizes families with less financial means to access increased options.

5. Why should we pay for alternative school options for kids with taxpayer dollars?

Public education is about offering educational support to all children. This expands beyond children who attend public schools. As one example, Utah law requires that children in private schools and home schools be given the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities at their local public school on the same terms as children attending that school. 

By the same token, the focus of public education ought to be supporting the best option for the student’s learning, not upholding or filling seats in a particular program, school, online platform, etc. Public funds are meeting their purpose when they help educate any of Utah’s school-age children in the best way possible. We should consider these education choices as part of the mission of the public education system and support families in these decisions.

6. Will the Utah Fits All Scholarship program drain the state public education system?

HB 215 presumes the Legislature will allocate roughly $40 million for Utah Fits All Scholarships (enough for about 5,000 Utah students) from the state Income Tax Fund. According to the state constitution, income tax funds in Utah can be returned to taxpayers by reducing income taxes or can be spent on individuals with disabilities, colleges and universities or K-12 public education. In other words, the defeat of HB 215 would not necessarily mean those funds would go to K-12 public schools.

The $40 million for scholarships presumed by HB 215 represents about 1% of state funds going to K-12 public schools. These numbers do not support the argument that the scholarships created by HB 215 will drain public schools. Even if HB 215 passes, the majority of Utah parents will continue to send their children to public schools, and those schools will continue to get the overwhelming majority of state funds spent on K-12 education, just like they do today.

7. Will education savings accounts harm home-schoolers and private schools?

The bill is explicitly written in order to protect private schools and home schools. It states that nothing in the bill “grants additional authority to any state agency or LEA to regulate or control a private school, qualifying provider, or home school.” For instance, it draws a bright line between traditional home-school families that don’t apply for or receive a Utah Fits All Scholarship and those in the program who do receive a scholarship and educate their students at home.

8. Does this program have adequate accountability?

Accountability – both financially and academically – is a key component of education policy. On the financial side, HB215 requires background checks for the program manager; annual and random audits of individual families’ scholarship accounts; a suspension process for those who misuse funds; and, in some cases, surety bonds from qualifying providers and ways to withhold funds from or withdraw from the program providers who do not meet certain terms.  

Academically, this bill entrusts accountability to the parent of a student receiving a Utah Fits All Scholarship. If a student with a scholarship is succeeding academically in their home school or private school education and that program is meeting other family needs, then a parent will keep the student enrolled there. If the school is not serving the student’s academic needs, then their parent will eventually enroll the student somewhere else – taking their scholarship funds with them. 

This approach to accountability ensures that it is first aimed toward students and parents through increasing autonomy in education choices. In fact, a primary function of even public-school accountability measures is to communicate with families about how a school is doing for their student, though sometimes a parent’s individual ability to do anything with that information can be limited. In this bill, if parents and students do not like academic outcomes, they can make immediate, real-time decisions to find an education that works best for them. In addition, this bill requires academic signals to the broader public by requiring participating students to submit a portfolio of work to the program manager or take an approved assessment.