One of Utah’s longest-standing and controversial topics, school vouchers, is still percolating at a low boil. We explore why this will be a hot political topic for the next several years.
For decades, Utahns overwhelmingly opposed vouchers. A statewide referendum soundly rejected them in 2007. Yet that all changed earlier this decade. A majority of voters now support some form of a voucher program. The Utah State Auditor just released an analysis of the expenditures made in the first year of the Utah Fits All (UFA) program. How will this impact public support and future political deliberations?
Cowley: Distrust of public schools peaked during the pandemic. Mask mandates and haphazard rules, arbitrarily changing every week, undermined any trust parents had in this institution. When students were forced into remote learning, many parents were practically homeschooling their kids anyway, making this educational alternative more viable to families.
The UFA is immensely popular with tens of thousands of applicants, a significant waitlist and a 90% renewal rate, but as with many government programs, the initial launch was rocky. The law was left intentionally broad to give parents flexibility, but inevitably, some less scrupulous individuals took advantage. The legislature acted quickly to implement additional guardrails. Certain struggles linger because it’s hard to draw a bright line of what is permissible and what is not. Meeting a panda at the San Diego Zoo sounds extravagant, but Hogle Zoo and Antelope Island field trips are mainstays of Utah public schools.
A few bad actors and outlandish expenditures shouldn’t enter into the judiciary’s evaluation of the program’s constitutionality. Surveys show broad support for the program, just not lavish extracurriculars. Legislators and supporters need to police the purse strings to maintain support in the court of public opinion while the artful Attorney General Derek Brown fights for educational freedom at the Utah Supreme Court.
Pignanelli: “The philosophy of the schoolhouse in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.” — Abraham Lincoln
Utahns’ support for the public education system once ran deep across geographic and demographic boundaries. So, no surprise that two-thirds of Utah voters repealed the legislative attempt for vouchers in 2007.
Throughout history, pandemics changed patterns of human thought. As Renae noted, the COVID pandemic flipped this issue, as two-thirds of voters now support vouchers in some form.
Utah is a well-governed state because its leaders reflect what the people demand of themselves — hard work, efficiency, and a dedication to quality. A tax-funded voucher program must reflect these values. The polls indicate an overwhelming number want to help families with textbooks and supplies. Flagrant abuse (i.e., scuba lessons) will annoy them.
Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, the articulate advocate of UFA, is constantly reworking the details to protect taxpayer dollars. She is astute and knows the window for tolerance is available but not eternal. The program will again be exhaustively reviewed to protect public confidence.
The Utah Education Association and other public school special interest organizations challenged Utah’s voucher program. A decision on whether the scholarship program is in accordance with or violates the Utah Constitution still has yet to be rendered. But there’s also a new expanded Supreme Court in place. Could the new justices have an impact on the final decision expected later this year or early next year? What is the political fallout from any decision?
Cowley: Numerous other states are also facing court challenges to their school choice programs. In Utah, it’s assumed the new justices skew farther right, giving UFA Scholarship supporters an advantage.
Thankfully, the Utah court saw fit to leave the program in place while legal battles are waged, providing continuity for families enrolled in the program. If it is dismantled, these students will be forced back into our already crowded public school classrooms.
In 2024, the legislature attempted to create more flexibility in school funding earmarks through a constitutional amendment that, due to an oversight in proper publication, the courts ruled invalid. Should the UFA program be struck down, additional legislative attempts to restructure school funding are expected.
Pignanelli: I am not a constitutional lawyer, but an attorney with 42 years of experience creating or demolishing loopholes and gray areas. In my limited judgment, there is wiggle room in the state constitution for this to go either way.
Regardless of the Supreme Court decision, there will be a massive response from local and national organizations aligned with whoever loses. This will trigger a response from the special-interest groups that support the winner. A constitutional amendment is the likely focus.
The traditional public school advocacy organizations play an important role, but are often outmatched in the legislative process by alternative schooling proponents. Why is this?
Cowley: The UEA wields the power of union canvassing prowess, but homeschoolers often succeed as Republican delegates. As long as Republicans maintain a supermajority in Utah, and the caucus convention system endures, this lopsided dynamic will persist.
Pignanelli: UEA is critical to representing educators at the Legislature. The nontraditional education advocates (i.e. homeschoolers, private schools) are aggressive participants in the traditional structures of politics. Fueled by the emotions of the pandemic, they will remain a force at the Capitol.