A controversial bill to create a taxpayer-funded, $36 million school voucher program failed by a weighty margin in the Utah House on Monday.
Rep. Marsha Judkins, R-Provo, argued that there are already options provided for and paid for in the public school system that parents can choose from to help their kid. “We might not be aware of all the choices that parents have,” she said.
Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, a retired teacher, said he also did not see any accountability measures in the bill to make sure private schools were providing an adequate education. Pierucci noted that she added a requirement to the bill for students who go to private school under the scholarship to be tested annually. Rep. Steve Waldrip, R-Eden, said he did not feel like that was enough. Public schools, he noted, have far more accountability measures to make sure teachers are prepared and students are learning.Other said there were worries about how the money could be used, including for therapy programs not currently provided in public schools.
Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, said with the changes to keep the WPU in public schools, it wasn’t harming education but giving parents more choices. And, he said, those are especially needed after the pandemic, where many families learned what worked best for their kids .
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