The much-anticipated compromise between education choice and funding public schools, HB 215 – Funding for Teacher Salaries and Optional Education Opportunities, was made public on the first day of the 2023 Utah legislative session. The legislation reflects the best of Utah’s policymaking ethic: avoid making a zero-sum game of two important and necessary education policy reforms, and instead seek policy outcomes that serve the common good.

It’s important to highlight that parent choices for educating their children changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and these choices continue today. After struggling with remote learning at their public school during the pandemic, Meagan and Kurt Christensen moved two of their children from Alpine School District to the private American Heritage School because they felt it was better able to address their kids’ needs. And the Christensen family was far from the exception. 

The fact that parents are already making alternative choices in education is a signal to policymakers that families deserve support in this crucial effort.  

In a recent Deseret News article, I described the public shift and policy opportunity this way: 

From the 2019-20 to 2020-21 school years, many students migrated away from traditional public schools. Charter school enrollment growth increased significantly. Additionally, the number of parents who reported themselves as home-schooling more than doubled from the spring of 2020 to fall of that year — minorities had noteworthy increases.

The number of Black families home-schooling grew five times during that same time period, and the number of Hispanic families home-schooling nearly tripled from 2016 to 2022. Private school enrollment, after being stagnant for years, may have even seen a boost.

These shifts reflect a loss of confidence among parents in these schools. School district decisions made during the pandemic did not address the variety of values, student needs, and family circumstances in our state — from the single parent needing their child to be in school while they work to the parent who objected to forcing their child to wear a mask.

As a result some of these parents chose a school they believed would better meet their unique needs.

These realities illuminate a path for policymakers: support education policy that better meets the needs of parents and educators in our pluralistic society.

Furthermore, parents of the American public came out of the pandemic with a high level of support not only for education choice but for increasing teacher salaries. In my Deseret News article, I wrote: 

According to the 2022 Education Next Survey of Public Opinion, a majority of parents support expanded education choice, including more public charter schools, publicly funded scholarships for private school tuition, home schools and education savings accounts. Parents also support more funding for district public schools and pay raises for teachers.

Utah legislators have an opportunity to achieve both with HB 215 – Funding for Teacher Salaries and Optional Education Opportunities. 

Importantly, the bill offers teachers a significant pay raise. Specifically, it offers all full-time teachers a pay increase of $8,400 per year when the education choice provisions are implemented and funded. Some have criticized pairing salary increases and a choice program, but this provision reflects a shared statewide priority: helping both parents and educators recover and move forward from the difficulties and disruptions of the pandemic. 

The Utah Fits All scholarship created in this legislation is a commonsense next step in education choice for Utahns as well. Under the proposed program, all K-12 students in Utah can qualify to receive a Utah Fits All Scholarship. Those awarded these scholarships receive $8,000 in an account that they can use for a variety of approved education services from state-approved vendors. Approved education expenses include tuition, fees, textbooks, curricula, educational software, supplies, computer hardware, exam fees and more. 

In order to ensure that limited funds help the families that need them most, the program prioritizes students in low-income households – first, those with a family income at or below 200% of federal poverty; second, those with a family income between 200% and 555% of federal poverty, and then those with a sibling in the program or those who received it the previous year (to create continuity for participating families).  

The scholarship program is to be managed by a nonprofit organization overseen by the Utah State Board of Education. In addition to creating scholarship accounts for students in the program and managing vendors, this nonprofit is responsible for accountability measures that include developing a process if scholarship funds are misused or reporting to the attorney general for collection or criminal investigation in the case of fraudulent use. Likewise, the nonprofit is responsible for annual and random audits of scholarship accounts.  

The bill states that it does not impact home-school students whose families have no connection to state requirements or funding. In other words, those who home-school without aid from this program are not supposed to be impacted. Other than ensuring financial solvency in private schools with more than 150 participating students by requiring them to submit annual financial audits to the nonprofit program manager, it likewise seeks to leave undisturbed participating private schools, home schools and other providers.  

In other words, the program recognizes and empowers parents as the institutional leaders of families – on a comparable institutional level as teachers, principals and superintendents – to hold schools accountable. Such an approach to accountability is in line with the recognition in state education law that “parents have the primary responsibility for the education of their children.”  

Discussions about the merits and proposed amendments to the legislation are only now beginning, as is normal for the lawmaking process. However, the core of the legislation tackles important policy issues beneficial to both teachers and parents. It reflects respect for educators through a pay increase and elevates parents as institutional leaders as both seek to give the best education possible to Utah students.