This election cycle, Utah overwhelmingly voted in favor of former President Donald Trump, who just announced that the Department of Education will be led by Linda McMahon — former administrator of the Small Business Administration, World Wrestling Entertainment executive and board member on the Connecticut State Board of Education. She’s been asked to lead the effort to “send education back to the states.”
If this change means states are further supported in creating education that fits their unique values, that is a significant win for states like Utah, which is poised to continue with its balanced approach. The 2024 election sent a clear message when it comes to education policy in the state: Utah is a solid education choice state that also prioritizes public schools.
Consider the following:
Gov. Spencer Cox — the incumbent who supported the universal education choice program called Utah Fits All, alongside a teacher pay increase — won his race handily (53%).
All incumbent state legislators who voted for Utah’s universal education choice program were reelected without issue.
Amendment B, which increased funding from the State School Fund for public schools, was overwhelmingly approved (71%) by Utah voters.
These election results reflect what is becoming the standard approach to education policy in Utah: a balance that promotes the interests of students in all types of schools. This signal from the people sends clear messages to policymakers and education advocates.
Policymakers should feel confident voting for education choice
Utah policymakers can feel confident in supporting education choice policies going forward. The state has come a long way from the place that repealed universal education choice via referendum in 2007, a policy that elected officials might have questioned supporting not too many years back.
Since the last gubernatorial election four years ago, Utah policymakers embraced a more robust education choice landscape, with the passage of a universal education savings account program — the Utah Fits All Scholarship. Not only did elected officials who supported this landmark law do well this election, but survey data also shows that voters generally support the program.
A recent Sutherland Institute survey conducted by Y2 Analytics shows that 44% of Utah likely voters support the Utah Fits All Scholarship when given a brief factual description of the program, while 40% oppose it and 17% neither support or oppose it. For context, in 2007 the referendum vote was about 60-40 against education choice.
Utah has had an interesting journey from 2007 to today. Between 2007 and 2020, parent-driven policy reforms like education choice remained narrowly limited to students with special needs due to the 2007 defeat. The pandemic, however, changed the approach to education and took the desire for better education options mainstream. As a result, education choice is almost surely here to stay.
Advocates should stop pitting choice against public education
Utahns now simultaneously support education choice and better public schools — a reality that advocates for education choice and public schools need to acknowledge in their own ways.
In March, Sutherland Institute published a survey with Y2 Analytics showing that Utahns ranked education funding for public schools among the issues most important to their vote this year. A more recent Sutherland Institute-Y2 Analytics survey revealed that increasing teacher retention through increased pay was among the very top priorities for likely voters in Utah of all stripes.
Because the passage of the Utah Fits All Scholarship in 2023 was accompanied by a significant boost in teacher compensation, it’s clear that the state cares about its public school teachers. The survey data and the overwhelming success of Amendment B reinforce this reality. Gone should be the days of arguing that support for education choice means harming public schools. Utahns want both, and lawmakers are delivering both.
Where Utah education policy should go next
While national politics may shake up the federal approach to education — and should do so in ways that further empower state decision-making — state leaders should continue to focus on what their state wants. With policymakers gearing up for a new legislative session, they should continue the balanced approach. This should include continued improvements to public school teacher compensation, increased funding for the Utah Fits All Scholarship program to reduce the waiting list for the program and improved parent access to choice in public schools through open enrollment reform.
That would reflect the education choice and public school support that Utah voters say they want.
Christine Cooke Fairbanks
Christine Cooke Fairbanks is education policy fellow at Sutherland Institute, a nonprofit think tank that equips Americans to advance principled public policy that promotes the constitutional values of faith, family and freedom.
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