Utah School Voucher Program Ruled Unconstitutional in Teachers Union Lawsuit
A Utah district court judge ruled the state's school voucher program unconstitutional on Friday following a nearly year-long lawsuit by the state teachers union.
The Utah Education Association sued the state last year, arguing the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program violated the constitution by diverting tax money to private schools that aren't free, open to all students and supervised by the state board of education.
The $100 million voucher program was created in 2023 by the Utah Legislature. It provided up to $8,000 in state income tax funds to eligible students through scholarship accounts to pay for private schools.
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District Court Judge Laura Scott said in her ruling that the program not only allows schools to deny students admission because of religion, politics and location, but it provides benefits to private and homeschooled children that might not be available to those in public school, like funds for computers, test prep courses and tutoring.
'Because the program is a legislatively created, publicly funded education program aimed at elementary and secondary education, it must satisfy the constitutional requirements applicable to the 'public education system' set forth in the Utah Constitution,' she said. 'And because there is no genuine dispute that the program fails to meet these 'open to all children' and 'free' requirements, it is unconstitutional.'
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The ruling comes amid a nationwide push for school choice expansion. On Thursday, the Texas House gave initial approval to a bill that would create a $1 billion private school voucher program. School voucher bills have also advanced this year in Wyoming and Tennessee.
Utah officials previously argued that the program's share of tax revenue was less than 1% of the amount allocated for the state's public schools, according to court documents. Robyn Bagley, executive director of Utah Education Fits All — one of the main organizations that advocated for the program — said in a statement Friday that Scott's decision was a 'temporary setback' and there will be an appeal.
'We knew such a judgment at this level was a possibility, and we remain extremely confident the program will ultimately be ruled constitutional by the Utah Supreme Court,' Bagley said. 'Many families are eagerly awaiting the thousands of new scholarships that have just been funded by the Utah Legislature.'
The program paid for the vouchers of 10,000 students — 80% of them homeschooled, according to the Utah News Dispatch. After a waitlist reached 17,000 names, the legislature reduced scholarship amounts for homeschooled students earlier this year.
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The Utah Education Association, which represents 18,000 members, said in a statement Friday that lawmakers had overstepped their authority and the union held them accountable.
'This decision protects the integrity of public education, ensuring critical funding remains in schools that serve 90% of Utah's children and prioritize equitable, inclusive opportunities for every student to succeed,' the union said.
The union has also been advocating against a bill, passed in February, that bans collective bargaining, which some opponents say was created to retaliate against the school voucher lawsuit. Utah union organizations recently submitted more than 300,000 signatures for a referendum to overturn the bill.
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