Latest news with #WasatchJuniorHighSchool
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Utah Fits All administrator to rerun applications after finding inconsistencies
Students work in a math class at Wasatch Junior High School in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) The administration change of Utah Fits All, the state's school choice program has hit some road bumps. Days after the Utah State Board of Education switched managers to run the program and the application portal closed, families are learning that they may have to apply again. Odyssey, a New York-based technology company that won the bid in May to run the voucher program, announced Friday on its website that after reviewing the application data the outgoing administrator provided, it found that in many cases the information was incomplete, inconsistent, or lacked proper verification. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The company 'will need to take additional steps to ensure accuracy, consistency, and compliance with the Utah Fits All law,' Odyssey officials wrote. They said those actions include re-running applications for families participating in the second year application cycle. 'We understand that this may be frustrating, but we believe this is the best path forward to determine eligibility accurately,' company officials said. The announcement comes after the Board of Education canceled early its multiyear contract with the program's previous third-party manager ACE Scholarships, citing 'convenience' reasons. The move was made possible by a 2025 bill that, among other changes to Utah Fits All, opened the door for a switch should the Board of Education need to change its current program administrator. Utah Board of Education ends contract early with Utah Fits All administrator Odyssey officials said ACE Scholarships' previous records make it impossible to determine students' eligibility since those records only show a small percentage of second year applicants successfully completed their income verification — a step on their application that's required by law. Those eligibility determinations will be delayed past the initial May 31 deadline, according to Odyssey. However, the company hasn't set a new timeline for the new process. Reconciling scholarship balances for current Utah Fits All participants is also underway, with 'a large population for whom Odyssey cannot determine their current balance because there are thousands of pending reimbursements, receipts, and transactions, many of which were received by Odyssey as recently as May 29th.' The company won't authorize any additional spending until pending purchases undergo further analysis, according to its website. As of Thursday, Utah Fits All's website listed June 30 as the last day to use 2024-2025 funds. Among the changes to Utah Fits All the Legislature approved this year is a 20% cap on extracurricular activities and physical education, in addition to tightened expense guidelines to explicitly prohibit the use of scholarship money to pay for ski passes, furniture, musical instruments, apparel, and other uses. While lawmakers approved more money to fund additional scholarships, bringing the total annual allocation for the program to $100 million, they also voted to reduce the amount some students could receive. This year, homeschooled children of ages 5 to 11 would have access to $4,000 a year, while those aged 12 to 18 years old could get up to $6,000. That's down from the $8,000 that was allowed during the program's first year. Private school students are still eligible for $8,000 a year to help cover their tuition or other expenses. Meanwhile, Utah Fits Alls is also facing other challenges that may threaten its existence. A 3rd District Court judge recently ruled the program to be unconstitutional, a win for the Utah Education Association, the state's largest teacher union. The union sued the state for diverting 'funds from already underfunded public schools,' union leaders said. They alleged the program violates the Utah Constitution, which explicitly says income tax revenue should be used to fund public education, among a few other limited uses. State leaders said they will appeal the decision to the Utah Supreme Court. While the case plays out in court, the program will continue to operate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
With reduced scholarship for homeschool students, Utah Fits All update poised to become law
Students work in an art class at Wasatch Junior High School in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) With about 80% of school choice voucher recipients being homeschooled in the Utah Fits All program's first year, the Utah Legislature has passed a bill restricting funding for extracurriculars and decreasing awards for students learning at home. HB455, sponsored by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, was updated in the Senate Education Committee last week to reduce the amount that homeschool students can receive, bringing down the $8,000 annual scholarship. Now, homeschooled Utah Fits All students 5 to 11 years old would have access to $4,000 a year, while those 12 to 18 years old could get $6,000. Private school students are still eligible for $8,000 a year to help cover their tuition or other expenses. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'We made that change,' Pierucci said on the House floor on Monday. 'It will open up a minimum $16 million in the current existing appropriation, so that that money can be reallocated to more students.' The bill passed both the House and the Senate and now only awaits the governor's signature. In a public hearing, many spoke against the change in scholarship amounts. Madeline Ogborn, who has two children in the program, said it would be devastating to lose 50% of her budget to educate them. 'We're, I guess, confused, disappointed, worried about being treated equally,' she said, adding that she has tried to be thoughtful about her expenses, but still, one of her students is already over that $4,000 limit for this school year, she said. However, Pierucci defended the scholarship amount cut, arguing that while she acknowledges that homeschool learning can work in many ways, with different expenses, she heard concerns about the program encouraging 'frivolous spending' with the $8,000 amount. She struggled with the cut, she said, because it could send a message that homeschooling is 'less than.' But, the change is to allow more students into the program. The school choice scholarship, which detractors call 'school vouchers,' has been controversial and even faces a challenge in court with a lawsuit questioning its constitutionality. But, it has also been highly sought after in the state, with a lengthy waitlist of those vying to get state dollars for education expenses including private school tuition and fees, homeschooling, tutoring services, testing fees, materials and other expenses. Pierucci said lowering the scholarship amount could potentially allow some of the more than 17,000 students on the waitlist to get into the program. And, more Utah students may also have access to the money in the coming year, as a new request for appropriations was included in the state's budget recommendation for the 2025 fiscal year, leaving some Democratic lawmakers frustrated. Currently the Utah Fits All is allocated $82.5 million in taxpayer funding a year, used to serve about 10,000 students. A request to almost double that amount was met halfway in the budget, which adds $40 million more in ongoing money for the program. The legislation also establishes more guardrails and clear guidelines for the program manager, strengthening residence requirements and adjusting the priority for families with an income from 200% of the federal poverty level to 300%, 'to make sure we're truly capturing low income and middle class families before it is available to all families in Utah,' Pierucci said. It also includes a provision that has been very unpopular among recipients — a 20% cap for extracurriculars and physical education, and the clear exclusion of ski passes, furniture, musical instruments, apparel and others from the allowable expenses. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah is ready to spend millions on free meals for eligible students
Students work in a class at Wasatch Junior High School in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) When Republican Rep. Tyler Clancy, who is also a Provo police officer, drove a young girl to school moments after she witnessed her mother being saved from an overdose, she cried in the back of his car because she hadn't eaten breakfast that morning or dinner the night before. Clancy said he was able to solve the problem in that moment by taking her to McDonald's. 'How in the world are we expected to have this young lady learn about reading, writing, math, become a self-sufficient adult that's going to provide for herself and her future family, if we can't meet the basic needs?' Clancy asked the House Education Committee Tuesday. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX With HB100, Clancy wants to expand which students are eligible for Utah's free school meals program. Currently, households with incomes at or below 130% qualify for free meals under federal guidelines, and households with incomes between 130% and 185% pay a reduced meal fee. The proposed legislation would allow reduced-price Utah students in kindergarten through sixth grade to opt into a program that would give them free breakfast and lunch. 'I'm not asking you to cover meals for everyone,' he said. 'We're trying to be very precise and take a scalpel-like approach to hit those few students who really need the help, so they can move along that pathway to human dignity and that self-sufficiency.' The new legislation could provide no-cost meals to around 40,000 children by using $2.8 million in state funding. 13 states with Republican governors opt out of summer food program for kids 'Every year schools are generating about $2.8 million of school meal debt, and so instead of paying off debt, we want to get to the heart of that issue … we want to hit those students who are really in need, and that's what this reduced price category is,' Clancy said. HB100 would also require the Utah Department of Workforce Services to participate in the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children Program, a federal program that provides families with around $40 per month per eligible child to assist with food costs during the summer when kids are out of school. Participation in the S-EBT program could help 260,000 Utah students. A public-private partnership between The Policy Project and Utah's philanthropic families would cover the $618,000 for S-EBT, and the state would not assume the cost until 2027. Other aspects of the bill include prohibiting schools from stigmatizing students unable to pay for meals and encouraging schools to reduce food waste. Opponents of the bill were concerned about adding a program to address hunger and government overreach. 'I know that there are a lot of programs in place. I've talked to different school districts and board members, and there are a lot of districts who have in place, already, programs that will cover the family portion if needed,' Rep. Tiara Auxier, R-Morgan, said. 'So I'm just trying to figure out why we need another program to address this.' Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele, asked how the bill aligns with the principles of limited government. 'I feel like there's other boxes we could be looking into, beside more government money,' Peck said before voting against the bill. 'So even though I care deeply, deeply about the children and I respect the sponsor deeply as well and his heart on this, I'm going to have to be a no.' Brynn Murdock, executive director for Ogden School Foundation, said she gets to see the difference that education makes for students on a daily basis. 'We know that when students' needs are met and they are able to successfully learn in class, that has not only an impact on their life, but the impact of our state,' she said. Rep. Carol Moss, D-Holladay, said this bill's funding is small compared to other programs, such as the school voucher program, which receives around $82.5 million. 'This is such a small part of government spending,' she said. 'When you look at the totality of what we spend on education, and the benefit is profound. No child should go to school hungry. I think that's the bottom line.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
