As concerned citizens of Utah, we oppose House Bill 215, which ties a “scholarship program” to a teacher pay increase. The bill is actually a school voucher for private schools and lacks accountability and transparency. 

We believe this is a misuse of taxpayer funds, a disservice to students, and a threat to Utah’s public schools and teachers. We appeal to the Utah State Legislature to vote NO on HB 215. We invite legislators to seek input from parents, teachers, taxpayers, school and district officials and USBE,  and to collaborate with public education groups to improve and invest in Utah education. 

Following are some reasons that we oppose this voucher program.

--Teacher pay should not be tied to a voucher program. Teachers should be adequately paid because they deserve to be paid more.

--Vouchers/scholarships do not decrease the achievement gaps for marginalized students. 

--Vouchers provide private schools with public taxpayer money without accountability to taxpayers. 

--Parents already have many options for choices in educating their child and vouchers do not provide additional access for those in greatest need. 

--There is not widespread support for vouchers among parents, teachers, or community members. 

--Private schools would take funding without being required to comply with IDEA laws or state laws regarding special education access to education. 

--Utah is currently 50th in per student spending. Until that changes, vouchers will further cripple our underfunded classrooms.

(This petition is sponsored by Utah Parents Involved in Education. Find us on Facebook.)