Less than a year after launching its largest-ever school voucher program, Utah is ending its contract with ACE Scholarships, the organization it hired in November 2023 to manage the $82 million taxpayer-funded initiative.
Ryan Bartlett, a spokesperson for the Utah State Board of Education, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday that the contract “is being terminated for convenience.”
“We’ve gained some insights into the complexities and the operational nuances of the program in practice,” Bartlett said. “Because of those complexities, and the nature of the program, [lawmakers determined] that at this time, right now, we would terminate the contract with ACE Scholarships.”
The state school board will next issue a new “Request for Proposal,” or RFP, which is a formal process to solicit new bids from vendors to manage the program.
Bartlett said USBE notified ACE early this month of its intent to end the contract, which will terminate May 15. The RFP will be released “as soon as possible,” though Bartlett could not name a specific date.
USBE expects to have the next program manager in place by May 16, he said. He added that ACE could still reapply and that the state would consider its application alongside others.
ACE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Tribune on Wednesday, but the organization posted a statement on the “Utah Fits All” scholarship website.
“It has been an honor for ACE Scholarships to help thousands of Utah students access the education that best meets their needs,” the statement reads. “We look forward to future opportunities to serve Utah families and continue advancing educational freedom in Utah and across the nation.”
Under the bill that created the Utah Fits All scholarship, the state school board was required to hire a program manager to administer school vouchers. After a bidding process, it awarded a $9 million contract to ACE in November 2023.
The contract originally ended in June 2028 unless “terminated early,” according to a copy of the contract The Tribune obtained.
ACE, also referred to as the Alliance for Choice in Education, is a Colorado-based nonprofit that offers private school scholarships to low-income students to help expand school choice in the U.S., according to its website. The organization is active in 12 states, including Utah, the website states.
ACE’s early contract termination comes amid several other massive changes to the Utah Fits All scholarship program, which ACE has referred to as an “education savings account” program. Lawmakers approved changes this year under HB455, which Gov. Spencer Cox signed into law earlier this month.
Right now, the program provides eligible students with an $8,000 scholarship, regardless of whether recipients are homeschooled or attend private school. The main rule: In order to receive the voucher money, students cannot be enrolled in public school full time.
Once awarded, the scholarship could then be spent on a range of “educational expenses,” including private school tuition, tutoring, homeschooling expenses and even entirely on extracurricular activities, such as violin or swim lessons.
The changes start next academic school year: There will be new limits on spending for certain extracurriculars — as well as varying scholarship amounts, depending on a student’s age and whether they are homeschooled.
Homeschoolers age 5-11 will receive a $4,000 scholarship, for example, and homeschoolers age 12-18 will qualify for $6,000. Students attending private schools will still receive the full $8,000, regardless of age.
Additionally, extracurricular and physical education expenses will both be capped at 20% each — or 40% total — of a student’s total scholarship amount.
The scholarship program is also slated to see a $20 million funding boost in fiscal 2026, raising state voucher spending to over $100 million. Lawmakers approved the cash infusion during the legislative session but Cox has not yet signed it into law.
The bill that introduced changes to the program did not “provide a directive” to terminate the state’s contract with ACE, Bartlett said, but it did “provide further clarification should a transition event occur.”
Applications for the Utah Fits All scholarship opened to renewing applicants on Jan. 21 and to new applicants March 3. Bartlett said families can continue to apply through the Utah Fits All website until the portal closes May 1.
Utah Education Fits All, a nonprofit that is unaffiliated with the voucher program but aims to provide information about it, is hosting a virtual town hall at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday meant to address “recent changes to the Utah Fits All law.” The Utah State Board of Education’s deputy superintendent of operations, Scott Jones, is expected to attend.
“We are working with ACE closely to ensure that we have the information we need to make this transition process as seamless as possible,” Bartlett said.
— This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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