Utah Fits All Because When it Comes to Education One Size Does Not
In 2023, in large part because of the grassroots organizing efforts of our sister organization, Americans for Prosperity Utah, state lawmakers passed HB215, the Utah Fits All Scholarship bill, to expand educational choice and freedom to all Utah families. HB215 also includes a $6,000 pay raise for teachers.
Utah Fits All creates Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) to empower parents and families to direct the education of their children. This puts power where it belongs—in the hands of Utah families.
“[Utah Fits All] truly prioritize the most important parts of our education system—students and teachers—and champions a salary increase for our hard-working educators and expands freedom for our families while providing tremendous opportunity for each of our students to succeed.”
–Americans for Prosperity – Utah State Director, Heather Andrews
Utah Fits All, Benefits All. Public, private, charter, homeschool—families choose.
Frances Floresca shares in Deseret News, “Unlike voucher programs, which are solely for private school tuition, ESAs offer more flexibility for families. This distinction sets ESAs apart from voucher programs and provides a broader range of educational opportunities for children. Not only will they let families choose where they want to send their children to school, but they will be able to use funds for tutoring, transportation and after-school activities.
Also, since the funds for the program already come from a portion of existing per pupil funding (around 88%), the remainder of resources will go back to children in traditional public schools. This means there will be more money left over for fewer children attending these schools. UFASP will benefit everyone — without defunding traditional public schools.
I have seen firsthand how school choice improved traditional public schools during the rise of the charter school movement in Utah over the past 20 years. With even more options on the rise, such as private schools, microschools and hybrid schools, public schools will be forced to innovate even more to stay relevant and competitive in the education market.
Right now, Utah ranks No. 9 in the country for its pre-K-12 education, according to U.S. News & World Report. Once families start utilizing ESAs to take advantage of even more innovative learning models, Utah’s education ranking will only improve.”
How does my child access the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program?
All K-12 students, who are Utah residents qualify to receive the full scholarship amount of $8,000; students can be currently in public, private, homeschool, or just starting kindergarten.
Utah Families can learn how to apply for Utah Fits All here
Citations
Video from KSTU FOX 13 Salt Lake City, UT