A sizable majority of Utahns are open to Utah Fits All Scholarship recipients enjoying flexibility on how they opt to use their state-provided funds — but within limits.
The latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll, conducted by HarrisX in mid-July, reveals broad support for money from the state’s school voucher program being used in areas primarily focused on learning.
But such endorsements dip when respondents were asked about Utah Fits All Scholarship dollars being used for extracurricular activities such as voice lessons and outdoor recreation.
“Utahns show strong support for using the Utah Fits All Scholarship in a variety of ways,” said Jason Perry, the director of the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics.
“People are on board with using the funds for tutoring, school supplies, private school, or even day care.”
Such flexibility, he added, suggests that Utahns want options to meet the specific needs of their children.
But poll respondents generally “draw the line” on using Beehive State-funded voucher money for outdoor recreation and gear. “That tells us Utahns are thinking carefully about how these funds are spent, and they want the focus to stay on learning,” said Perry.
Utahns open to ‘new tools’ to support children
In 2023, the Utah Legislature created the Utah Fits All Scholarship, which allows parents to apply for up to $8,000 in state funding that can be used for homeschooling, to attend private school, or toward other education providers.
The state’s voucher program remains divisive — and its ultimate fate will likely be decided in a courtroom. But for now, Utah Fits All is up and running.
In the recent poll, just over 800 Utah voters were asked if they agree or disagree on Utah Fits All funds being used for a list of purposes specified in the survey.
Generally, Utahns are on board with scholarship-recipient families enjoying fairly broad spending flexibility.
When asked if it’s appropriate to use scholarship money on purchasing workbooks or school/office supplies, 83% answered affirmatively. Curiously, that “agree” figure — 83% — was identical for both Republican and Democratic respondents.
Meanwhile, 77% agreed that using Utah Fits All funds to pay for tutoring services should be allowed.
Using scholarship money to cover fees or tuition for preschool or day care was considered agreeable by 65% of poll respondents, while 35% disagreed. Similar “agree vs. disagree” percentages were recorded when asked if it’s appropriate to use voucher money to help pay for “home classroom setup.”
Republican and Democrat respondents voiced similar support for Utah Fits All funds being used to cover the costs of field trips. Overall, 63% said they agree — while 37% disagree.
The “agree vs. disagree” response gap tightened when participants were asked if “extracurricular activities” such as music and voice lessons should be allowed. Sixty percent agree, while 40% disagree.
But when it comes to Utah Fits All subsidizing adventures in the “great outdoors,” most are saying “nay.” A majority of poll respondents — both Republican and Democrat — oppose scholarship funds being used to cover the costs of outdoor recreation such as purchasing passes and recreation gear.
While 44% agree that vouchers should be allowed to fund outdoor fun, 56% said they disagree.
The recent poll regarding attitudes on appropriate Utah Fits All spending suggests that Utahns’ views on school funding are changing, said Perry. “Families are not turning away from public education, but they are open to new tools that help them support their children.”
Opinions on Utah Fits All remain mixed
Perry’s observations about Utahns’ views on funding K-12 education are echoed up by a similar Deseret News/Hinckley Institute Poll conducted in May.
In that survey, 805 Utah registered voters were asked if they support or oppose Utah Fits All.
Almost two-thirds — 62% — responded positively.
Meanwhile, 31% voiced opposition, while 8% responded, “Don’t know.”
Still, opinions about the school voucher program are varied.
While over 60% of poll responders voiced some level of support for Utah Fits All, only 28% said they “strongly support” the program. The other 34% “somewhat support” it.
On the flip side, 16% of poll responders were in the “strongly oppose” camp — just a single percentage point more than those who “somewhat oppose” the Utah Fits All Scholarship program.
Utah Fits All has faced spirited debate at the Utah Capitol, across the opinion pages and inside the courtrooms.
In 2023, the state was sued by the Utah Education Association and several individual plaintiffs after the school voucher program was enacted — giving eligible K-12 students up to $8,000 a year for private school tuition and other costs. Utah Fits All went into effect last fall.
The teachers union and its fellow petitioners argued that the program violated the Utah Constitution because it diverts income tax revenue to fund private schools.
In April, 3rd District Judge Laura Scott ruled that the school voucher program currently being utilized by thousands of Utah children was, indeed, unconstitutional.
The judge said that because the Utah Fits All program is created by the Legislature and a publicly funded educational program, it must satisfy the constitutional requirements applicable to the “public education system” set forth in the Utah Constitution.
The Legislature, added Scott, does not have the authority “to circumvent these constitutional requirements by simply declining to ‘designate’ the program as part of the public education system.”
The judge agreed with the union and other plaintiffs in her April ruling, saying the program violated sections of the state Constitution that require the state to fund a public education system open to every student that is free of charge, and to use state income tax to fund public schools and to support children and people with disabilities.
Proponents of the program had argued the program did not affect the state’s system of public schools, but was in addition to that constitutional requirement, and that it cleared the bar of using income tax to support children.
Scott would later rule that the school voucher program could continue pending the expected defendants’ appeal before the Utah Supreme Court.
The judge also ruled, in May, on a couple of outstanding “claims for relief” issued by the plaintiffs. Scott’s follow-up actions essentially allowed the defendants in the case against Utah Fits All — which includes Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown — to move forward with the appeals process.
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