Changes being made to the Utah Fits All program
This school year is the official first year of the Utah Fits All Scholarship, which was a created by state lawmakers in 2023. After audits and feedback, lawmakers have worked to make changes to improve the program.
The Utah Fits All program provides scholarships for private school and home-based education. This year there were 10,000 scholarship recipients with 17,000 on the waitlist.
HB455, sponsored by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, would change how much money is allotted to certain students, add residency and income standards and set stricter parameters around how the program is administered.
'I firmly believe that you can support a robust public education system while also empowering parents and students through school choice,' Pierucci said. 'We empower parents with tools to tailor their child's education to better meet their needs.'
The bill passed unanimously through the House on Monday and will now be sent to the Senate. The bill's Senate floor sponsor is Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper.
'I appreciate the changes this year, because, as we know, there are growing pains with every new policy and program that we start here at the Legislature, and there's certainly been growing pains in this program,' said Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield.
Pierucci said the program came with some unintended consequences that her bill is meant to fix.
Not everyone is in favor of the program itself. Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, said he was a no vote on the bill to create the program but said he is in favor of the improvements that are being made to the program through HB455.
'I think whether you're a fan of the program or not, I think everybody could get behind tightening up the program, ensuring that it's running as responsibly as possible,' Cullimore said.
Pierucci said that in the original bill, discretion was given to the program manager to establish guidelines on what qualified as an educational expense.
'Quite frankly, they just have not made those hard lines that I would think they should have. So that's why we're coming in now in code.'
The bill does not change the amount of money that is allocated to the program.
'It takes an awful lot of integrity to recognize that a program that you care a lot about and make a lot of effort in getting started up has some flaws, and I appreciate the sponsor for being willing to take those criticisms and those critiques and coming back with solutions,' said Rep. Norman Thurston, R-Provo.
Pierucci said she worked with stakeholders to make changes that work for everyone, but said there are some people who were upset by the guardrails being put in place.
'I think this program is about trusting the parents to do what's best for their kids. But, anytime you're dealing with taxpayer money, we've got to ensure that's being used responsibly. And sometimes you've got to come to consensus on that. You can't just do what you think is best and without any accountability,' Cullimore said.
The bill would strengthen the residency requirements for scholarship recipients, making sure the money only goes to Utah residents. There are also changes that would be made to the income verification process.
HB455 would also set limits for the amount of the scholarship that can be spent on extracurricular activities and physical education. Fine arts and music classes are a part of core education so they do not fall under the extracurricular activities category.
There would also be adjustments made to the application dates and to the way families are notified that they will be receiving the scholarship.
With the changes, the same amount would be available for private school families, but they are adjusting the scholarship amount for homeschool families. The amount for elementary school students would be $4,000 and the amount for middle school and high school students would be $6,000 a year.
Pierucci said that 80% of this year's scholarship recipients are home-based learners and 20% are students in private schools.
Pierucci said they are also changing the way the application works. The first tier of applicants would include those with a lower income and they would have higher priority.
Oversight responsibility of the program would also shift from a third party to the department of financial information.
HB192, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City, would make changes to what scholarship money cannot be spent on.
The bill would clarify that scholarship money cannot go toward costs related to sports, recreational activities or athletic programs.
Any other expenses that are already available to the student through their local education agency or another public program, regardless of their status as a scholarship student, would also not count as scholarship expenses.
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