Sutherland Institute’s education policy director, Christine Cooke, released the following statement:

“Sutherland Institute commends the recommendation of Representative Melissa Garff Ballard in the House Education Standing Committee today to create a task force to study state education governance,” Cooke said. “The multiple changes to the state board of education in the past two decades suggest that our current state education governance is certainly worthy of review and modification, especially thoughtful modification.

“Many recognize that the issue of education policymaking authority in Utah is confusing. The state constitution charges the Legislature with the ‘establishment and maintenance’ of the public school system, while the state board has ‘general control and supervision’ of the same system – a distinction that continues to puzzle policymakers. Many assume the governor has authority in education policymaking when actually he or she does not. Compounding the issue, members of the State Board of Education are not widely known among Utahns. We need to move toward a governance structure that not only protects voters’ ability to weigh in on matters impacting the education of their children via elections, but that does so through clear and transparent channels of authority.

“We look forward with hopeful anticipation to upcoming discussions regarding state education governance in Utah.”