Utah's controversial school voucher program, which allows parents to take money meant for public education and put it toward private school tuition, homeschooling expenses and activities like ski passes, faces some major restrictions under new legislation.
Established in 2023, the Utah Fits All Scholarship program provides parents up to $8,000 of funding — almost twice as much as Utah's per-pupil spending for public school students.
The proposed overhaul comes amid growing scrutiny of the program, after officials discovered at least 177 scholarship recipients may be illegally enrolled in public schools. The changes would shift oversight from a private organization to the Utah State Board of Education and crack down on controversial spending practices.
Lawmakers initially allocated $42 million for the program, but doubled that to $80 million last year. This year, supporters are hoping to increase the total funding by another $80 million, but the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee has recommended only an additional $40 million in funding.
Currently, the Utah Fits All program is administered by an outside organization — the Alliance for Choice in Education (ACE). HB455 transfers oversight to a newly created "financial administrator" that is part of the Utah State Board of Education's Department of Operations.
Under the current system, voucher recipients who enroll in private schools or are homeschooled aren't required to take annual assessment tests to measure their progress. The program has also drawn criticism for its broad spending allowances.
Pierucci's proposed revisions exclude a number of controversial expenses that were previously allowed under the program. Recipients would no longer be allowed to purchase ski passes or lift tickets or season tickets or passes for entertainment events. Paying for chaperone expenses using scholarship funds would also not be allowed.
Only 20% of the total scholarship amount could be put toward extracurricular activities. Costs for "physical education experiences" would be capped at an additional 20% of the total. The Utah Fits All Scholarship website lists fitness centers, golf cubs, gymnastics and rock climbing as approved physical education costs.
In the program's first year, only about one-third of the approximately 27,000 students who applied were awarded scholarships, with a significant number of those coming from the homeschool community.
Pierucci's bill is scheduled for debate in the House Education Committee on Thursday afternoon.
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