(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Third District Judge Laura Scott during a hearing on Utah Education Association's lawsuit against the Utah Fits All Scholarship (voucher) program, in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.
Utah’s $100 million school voucher program violates the state’s constitution, a judge ruled Friday.
“[Because] the Program is a legislatively created, publicly funded education program aimed at elementary and secondary education, it must satisfy the constitutional requirements applicable to the ‘public education system’ set forth in the Utah Constitution,” Third District Judge Laura Scott wrote in her ruling. “The legislature does not have plenary authority to circumvent these constitutional requirements by simply declining to ‘designate’ the Program as part of the public education system.”
The decision comes almost a year after the Utah Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, sued the state, alleging that the “Utah Fits All” program was an unconstitutional use of the state’s income tax dollars — which are reserved only for public education, higher education and services for people with disabilities.
The judge agreed, ruling the program violates article X and article XIII of the Utah Constitution.
Article X states the Legislature shall establish and maintain a public education system and higher education system both “free from sectarian control.”
Article XIII governs how the Legislature is to spend income tax dollars, which are currently earmarked for public education, higher education and services for people with disabilities.
“The Utah Education Association celebrates today’s court ruling deeming the Utah Fits All voucher program unconstitutional,” UEA said in a statement shortly following the ruling. “This is a significant victory for public education and a reaffirmation that public money belongs in public schools.”
The statement continued: “The Legislature overstepped its authority and the UEA acted to hold them accountable and enforce the constitution. All governmental power requires oversight and accountability to the public, and the UEA is here to ensure it.”
The lawsuit named as defendants Gov. Spencer Cox, then-Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and the Alliance for Choice in Education (”ACE”), the organization hired by the Utah State Board of Education to manage the voucher program — which ACE refers to as an “education savings account” program — and its application process. The state has since terminated its contract with the organization.
Spokesperson for Cox and the Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to The Salt Lake Tribune’s request for comment Friday evening.
In July 2024, attorneys for Cox and Reyes asked the judge to throw out the suit, arguing that the voucher program “is not an education system” and the Utah Legislature is acting within its constitutional authority to use public money to “support children.”
In that motion, the attorneys also argued that directing funds to the voucher program does not prevent the state from fulfilling its obligation to provide Utah students with a “free and appropriate public education.”
“Nothing in the statute that creates the UFA Scholarship Program states or implies that funding for the Program will be taken from funds that would otherwise be appropriated to fund the public education system,” the motion stated.
Scott heard arguments in December but opted not to issue a ruling from the bench at the time.
During the hearing, Scott questioned whether to rely on a narrow reading of Utah’s constitution and its relevant voter-approved amendments to make her decision — or instead to consider the plaintiff’s exhibits, which reflected how Utah voters from the 1980s or early aughts thought about how those amendments could apply at the time.
In January, Scott ordered the plaintiffs and defendants to return to court with more historical information to help make her determination.
Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, who sponsored the bill that created Utah Fits All as well as a recent bill that made significant changes to the program, called the judge’s ruling “judicial activism.”
“The Utah State Constitution states that ‘parents have the primary responsibility for the education of their children,’” Pierucci said Friday in a statement to The Tribune. “I’m committed to fighting for this program and for Utah families — every child deserves the chance to learn in the environment that suits them best. We can support strong public education while also empowering parents through school choice.”
The Republican-dominated legislature passed HB215 in 2023, creating the “Utah Fits All Scholarship” voucher program, despite opposition from teachers and nearly every education organization in Utah.
Initially, the state allocated $42 million for the program starting in the 2024-25 school year — enough funding for about 5,000 students to each receive the allotted $8,000 share/scholarship. In February 2024, however, lawmakers injected another $40 million into the pot, raising the number of available scholarships to 10,000.
Lawmakers injected another 25% funding boost this legislative session, raising total state spending to more than $100 million.
The increase comes amid sweeping changes to the program, which has yet to complete its first full year of implementation.
Last year, all 10,000 recipients received an $8,000 scholarship, regardless of they were homeschooled or attended private school. The main rule: In order to receive the voucher money, students cannot be enrolled in public school full time.
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.
That will change next academic 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.
This means the more than $100 million in taxpayer-backed scholarships — if the judge had allowed them — could be spread across more recipients. Last year, 80% of voucher recipients were homeschooled, lawmakers have said. Now the fate of those millions is up in the air.
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