The debates among candidates for the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) in the general election have concluded, and videos of the debates can be watched online here.

The purpose of the debates was to help Utah voters become better acquainted with – and informed about – the candidates seeking to serve as members of the state board, and their positions pertaining to education policy in Utah’s K-12 system.

The Utah State Board of Education is composed of 15 members from throughout the state, each member representing over 150,000 Utahns. As described on the board’s website,

The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) is a constitutionally established, elected, non-partisan body that exercises general control and supervision over the public education system in Utah, including establishing the state educational core standards, state educator licensing policies, and state high school graduation requirements. Its 15 members are elected from geographic areas in Utah to four-year terms (Board Members). The State Board meets for a two-day session each month; meetings include study sessions, committee meetings, full board meetings, and meeting separately as the board of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB).

The State Board appoints the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer all programs assigned to the Utah State Board of Education in accordance with the policies and standards established. Both the State Board and State Superintendent are responsible for compliance with state and federal laws and administrative rules affecting education and for the distribution of over $4 billion to charter and district schools.

In this 2022 election cycle, candidates in eight of the 15 board districts are on the November ballot –

• District 1: Parts of Cache, Rich, Box Elder, Summit and Morgan Counties
• District 2: Parts of Weber County, Ogden and Eden
• District 4: Davis County, North Salt Lake, Farmington and Bountiful
• District 5: Parts of West Valley City, Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake and Murray
• District 6: Parts of Salt Lake City, Holladay, Millcreek, Emigration Canyon, Park City, Brighton and Solitude
• District 8: Parts of Taylorsville, Kearns and West Jordan
• District 11: Parts of Utah County, Lehi, American Fork, Alpine and Bluffdale
• District 14: Parts of Beaver, Sevier, Iron, Emery, Utah, Millard, Juab, Carbon, Sanpete and Grand Counties

To find your USBE district, click here and enter your street address.

The debate series was organized and hosted by the Utah Education Debate Coalition: Hinckley Institute of Politics, KSL and the Deseret News, Sutherland Institute, United Way of Salt Lake, Utah PTA, and Utah Association of Charter Schools.

Videos of the debates conducted in spring, before the primary elections, are also available for viewing online.