HB 215, also known as 'Utah Fits All'

Like many bills that come before the legislature, HB 215 (aka the “Utah Fits All” bill) morphed many times before it came to the floor for a vote. The legislators who staunchly defend public education (including a current teacher, two former school board members, a former superintendent, Governor Herbert’s former education policy analyst, and myself) were all opposed to the bill – until the sponsor presented the 3rd substitute version of it, which resolved our concerns.

 Here is why:

 -       Money goes directly to teachers and students.

o   Teachers will receive the largest pay increase in state history, and their raises won’t be filtered or diverted through school district budgets or WPU. The current Educator Salary Adjustment (ESA) amount of $4,200 will increase to $8,400 for teachers in all school districts and charter schools across the state with additional benefit increases (totaling $6,000 in additional compensation per teacher) [Many people have described this as a bribe of sorts to prevent teachers from opposing the bill. I see that! Teachers are often in the crosshairs in battles which unfortunately occur between the legislature and the UEA. The direct salary increase is intended to reassure public school teachers that their contributions are valued and that the allocation of a tiny fraction of education funds to allow parents to explore other educational options is not an indictment of the quality of Utah teachers.

o   Students who are not a good fit in the public school system or who need additional tutoring will be able to apply for scholarship money to meet their unique needs.

-       The 3rd Substitute preserves accountability for public funds. Students who receive scholarship money may either submit a portfolio of their educational activities at the end of the school year or take a test that demonstrates academic progress.

-       HB 215 will reduce class sizes while retaining property taxes and federal funding. Even students who leave the public school system entirely will continue to fund public schools, though at a reduced rate.

-       The fiscal note on HB 215 constitutes less than 1% of total state funding on education (and less than 0.5% of total funds spent on education in Utah.)

- A rumor is circulating that scholarship recipients will receive more money (even twice as much money) as the average student in public schools, which is not true and easily verified. The maximum scholarship amount is $8,000. The average per pupil expense in Utah public schools was $8,968 in 2022. (I always encourage people to go to auditor.utah.gov and click on Project Kids to see all kinds of information about public education. It’s an excellent resource.)

-       The Utah Fits All program will be small enough to gauge its effectiveness without harming our public school system if it proves ineffective. Only 5,000 of Utah’s 675,000 K-12 children will be able to utilize scholarships.

-       Preference for scholarships will be given to students whose families typically cannot afford educational options - those who are at or below 200% the federal poverty level (FPL) [$60K for a family of four]

- Critics of the bill complain that public dollars may ultimately be spent in private schools, but most government services are provided by public-private partnerships (like roads, Medicaid, Medicare, etc.) Taxpayer dollars flow to private entities in the normal procurement process.

- Opportunities for innovation in education are important, especially in light of declining scores on aptitude tests over a long period of time despite huge influxes of money. We don’t need even more testing to figure it out (something NO ONE likes, especially schools), but we might benefit from more competition. The State Board of Education and LEAs work hard and do a good job for the vast majority of learners, but they don’t have all the answers for all students. Individual kids still fall through the cracks - how do we educate those children?

- According to both the federal and the state constitutions, legislators appropriate funds, not teachers’ unions. We are elected by the people of our districts to use our best judgment and weigh arguments for and against proposals in light of multiple factors with an eye to the future.

-       The program manager who allocates funds will be selected through the normal procurement process in coordination with the State Board of Education.

-       The scholarship amount will adjust with inflation annually, but the 3rd Substitute does not have an automatic inflator to ‘grow’ the program like earlier versions of the bill.

-       The administrative costs of the program have been reduced by 38% since a similar bill failed on the House floor last year. (I voted against it.)

- Many people have predicted doom for Public Education if parents are allowed to apply “backpack funding” to educational alternatives using HB 215. Doom was also predicted when the Carson Smith Scholarship passed a few years ago, but that program has not harmed public ed. In fact, it has helped some families, and very few have chosen to use the scholarship, preferring public education.

- If public schools would like to attract more students, they must be responsive to and supportive of parents. The breakdown of trust between parents and schools (in both directions) has left many parents searching for affordable educational alternatives.

-       The correct process has been followed. For those who believe the process has been rushed, the underlying bill is similar to a bill that was brought last year (which I voted against.) This year’s bill has been out for a week and has been fully vetted in committee. Everyone has had time to read the bill and the substitute bill. It may feel rushed, in part, because it is only about a third of the way through the process - it isn’t done yet. It will now move to a Senate committee, then to the Senate floor. If they make further changes to the bill, it will return to the House for concurrence before arriving on the Governor’s desk.

I’ve always loved education!

I’ve always loved school! (and used to ‘play school’ when I wasn’t at school)

I’ve always valued teachers!

We raised all of our children in Utah public schools with excellent results.

Everyone in the legislature, without exception, believes in education. We allocate billions of dollars annually to education, increasing funding every year. (We do so with one arm tied behind our backs as a state, because 2/3rds of our lands are federally controlled and, therefore, do not generate revenue – but that is another story for another day.)

Note: The Irish poet Wm. Butler Yeats once said, ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.’ I would add that education funding is not education. If we want to revolutionize education in Utah, it will take more than money, more than well paid teachers, more than legislation, more than scholarships. Each one, teach one. How do we light the fire within each learner? That’s the real question.