Utah legislature doubles funding for school choice program after 'overwhelming number of applications'

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Utah’s legislature doubled the funding for a school choice program after an "overwhelming number of applications" from parents.

During a recent general session, the Utah legislature voted to double the funding for the Utah Fits All Scholarship program from $40M to $80M for its inaugural year after high demand for the program.

The application portal for the program opened on February 28 and had available spots for 10,000 students. Within the first 24 hours, the portal received applications from 10,617 students in its first year of starting.

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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, R., last year established the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program and provided funding for the program as well as boosted teacher pay. (George Frey/Getty Images)

Robyn Bagley, Executive Director of Utah Education Fits All, told Fox News Digital that "the overwhelming number of applications in only the first 24 hours demonstrates that the allotment for the Utah Fits All Scholarship must continue to grow."

"Although we doubled funding for year one, thousands of deserving Utah families will receive the disappointing news come April that they will not be awarded the opportunity to transform their child’s learning experience with a scholarship," Bagley said.

According to Utah's KSL.com, Majority Assistant Whip Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper, the sponsor of the bill that established the school choice program, told the Education Appropriations Subcommittee that the program "would need $280 million to meet the demand expressed by families who have indicated they are interested in applying for the vouchers."

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, R., last year established the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program and provided funding for the program as well as boosted teacher pay.

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Scholarship accounts were established on behalf of all Utah K-12 students to pay for "approved education goods and services" starting in the 2024-2025 school year.

Robyn Bagley, Executive Director of Utah Education Fits All, told Fox News Digital that "the overwhelming number of applications in only the first 24 hours demonstrates that the allotment for the Utah Fits All Scholarship must continue to grow." (Francesco Fotia/AGF/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

School choice, or providing all families with alternatives to the public schools they’re zoned for, can be expanded through multiple avenues at the state level, including school voucher programs, tax-credit scholarship programs, individual tuition tax credit programs and deductions, and education savings accounts (ESAs). 

Charter schools, magnet schools, and homeschooling are also forms of school choice programs.

Universal school choice made significant gains in the past couple of years when a wave of red states passed legislation into law. Alabama recently passed universal school choice and more states are looking to join the fold this year, a phenomenon Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called a "school choice revolution."

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who signed a universal school choice bill earlier in the year, also spoke at the conference. (Screenshot/ YouTube)

Ten states have passed universal school choice legislation so far, with Arizona leading the charge in July 2022.

Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Alabama, and North Carolina joined Arizona in signing universal school choice legislation and also implemented ESA models like Utah. West Virginia has an ESA model, as well.