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This user-friendly platform is designed to help you navigate the diverse landscape of Education Savings Accounts across different states. This tool offers a comprehensive comparison of ESA policies.

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UTAH: Fits All Scholarship Program

ESA comparison by Policy Hits: 136
  • Fund Administrator:
    • Synopsis:

      State Board of Education
  • Funding Mechanism:
    • Synopsis:

      Appropriation

      , Statute Language:

      -9 Scholarship account means the account to which a program manager allocates funds for the payment of approved scholarship expenses in accordance with this part.
  • Program Administrator (Gov't):
    • Synopsis:

      State Board of Education

      , Statute Language:

      (a) The state board shall include in the rules and provisions described in Subsection (5)(a) measures to ensure that the establishment and maintenance of scholarship accounts and enrollment in the program are not disrupted if the program manager is barred from participating in the program.
      (b) The state board may, if the program manager is barred from participating in the program, issue a new request for proposals and enter into a new agreement with an alternative program manager in accordance with this section.
  • Third Party Administrator:
    • Synopsis:

      ACE Scholarships
  • Role of DOE:
    • Synopsis:

      (State Board) Program Administrator

      , Statute Language:

      (a) The state board shall include in the rules and provisions described in Subsection (5)(a) measures to ensure that the establishment and maintenance of scholarship accounts and enrollment in the program are not disrupted if the program manager is barred from participating in the program.
      (b) The state board may, if the program manager is barred from participating in the program, issue a new request for proposals and enter into a new agreement with an alternative program manager in accordance with this section.
  • Application Window/Dates:
    • Synopsis:

      For renewing applicants, January 21 – April 30; for new applicants, March 3 – April 30

      , Statute Language:

      -1 There is established the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program under which, beginning March 1, 2024, a parent may apply to a program manager on behalf of the parent's student to establish and maintain a scholarship account to cover the cost of a scholarship expense.
  • Fund Disbursement Frequency:
    • Synopsis:

      Annual
  • Average Per-Pupil Funding:
    • Synopsis:

      $8,000 

      , Statute Language:

      (c) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(d), each year, subject to this part and legislative appropriations, a scholarship student is eligible for no more than:
      (i) for the 2024-2025 school year, $8,000; and
      (ii) for each school year following the 2024-2025 school year, the maximum allowed amount under this Subsection (2)(c) in the previous year plus a percentage increase that is equal to the five-year rolling average inflationary factor described in Section 53F-2-405.
      (d) If a scholarship student enrolls in an LEA part-time in accordance with Section 53G-6-702, the program manager shall prorate the amount of the award described in Subsection (2)(c) in proportion to the extent of the scholarship student's partial enrollment in the LEA.
  • Income Limit:
    • Synopsis:

      None

      , Statute Language:

      -1 Eligible student means a student:
      (a) who is eligible to participate in public school, in kindergarten, or grades 1 through 12;
      (b) who is a resident of the state;
      (c) who, during the school year for which the student is applying for a scholarship account:
      (i) does not receive a scholarship under:
      (A) the Carson Smith Scholarship Program established in Section 53F-4-302; or
      (B) the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program established in Section 53E-7-402; and
      (ii) except for a student who is enrolled part-time in accordance with Section 53G-6-702, is not enrolled in an LEA upon receiving the scholarship;
      (d) whose eligibility is not suspended or disqualified under Section 53F-6-401; and
      (e) who completes, to maintain eligibility, the portfolio requirement described in Subsection 53F-6-402(3)(d).
      -2 Federal poverty level means the United States poverty level as defined by the most recently revised poverty income guidelines published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the Federal Register.
  • Prior Year Public School Requirement:
    • Synopsis:

      None

      , Statute Language:

      -1 Eligible student means a student:
      (a) who is eligible to participate in public school, in kindergarten, or grades 1 through 12;
      (b) who is a resident of the state;
      (c) who, during the school year for which the student is applying for a scholarship account:
      (i) does not receive a scholarship under:
      (A) the Carson Smith Scholarship Program established in Section 53F-4-302; or
      (B) the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program established in Section 53E-7-402; and
      (ii) except for a student who is enrolled part-time in accordance with Section 53G-6-702, is not enrolled in an LEA upon receiving the scholarship;
      (d) whose eligibility is not suspended or disqualified under Section 53F-6-401; and
      (e) who completes, to maintain eligibility, the portfolio requirement described in Subsection 53F-6-402(3)(d).
      -2 Federal poverty level means the United States poverty level as defined by the most recently revised poverty income guidelines published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the Federal Register.
  • Geographic Limit:
    • Synopsis:

      Statewide

      , Statute Language:

      -1 Eligible student means a student:
      (a) who is eligible to participate in public school, in kindergarten, or grades 1 through 12;
      (b) who is a resident of the state;
      (c) who, during the school year for which the student is applying for a scholarship account:
      (i) does not receive a scholarship under:
      (A) the Carson Smith Scholarship Program established in Section 53F-4-302; or
      (B) the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program established in Section 53E-7-402; and
      (ii) except for a student who is enrolled part-time in accordance with Section 53G-6-702, is not enrolled in an LEA upon receiving the scholarship;
      (d) whose eligibility is not suspended or disqualified under Section 53F-6-401; and
      (e) who completes, to maintain eligibility, the portfolio requirement described in Subsection 53F-6-402(3)(d).
      -2 Federal poverty level means the United States poverty level as defined by the most recently revised poverty income guidelines published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in the Federal Register.
  • Additional Eligibility Check:
    • Synopsis:

      None
  • Homeschool Compatible:
    • Synopsis:

      Yes

      , Statute Language:

      (a) Home-based scholarship student means a student who:
      (i) is eligible to participate in public school, in kindergarten or grades 1 through 12;
      (ii) is excused from enrollment in an LEA in accordance with Section 53G-6-204 to attend a home school; and
      (iii) receives a benefit of scholarship funds.
      (b) Home-based scholarship student does not mean a home school student who does not receive a scholarship under the program.
  • Enrollment Cap:
    • Synopsis:

      10,000 students (due to $80M appropriation)

      , Statute Language:

      (a) To administer the program, the program manager may use up to the lesser of 5% or $2,500,000 of the funds the Legislature appropriates for the program.
  • Lottery:
    • Synopsis:

      Waitlist

      , Statute Language:

      (k) maintaining a protected internal waitlist of all eligible students who have applied to the program and are not yet scholarship students, including any student who removed the student's application from the waitlist; and
      (l) providing aggregate data regarding the number of scholarship students and the number of eligible students on the waitlist described in Subsection (1)(k).
  • Testing:
    • Synopsis:

      At parent request

      , Statute Language:

      53F-6-410.  Parental rights -- Optional assessment. 
      -1 In accordance with Section 53G-6-803 regarding a parent's right to academic accommodations, nothing in this chapter restricts or affects a parent's interests and role in the care, custody, and control of the parent's child, including the duty and right to nurture and direct the child's upbringing and education.
      -2 
      (a) A parent may request that the program manager facilitate one of the following assessments of the parent's scholarship student:
      (i) a standards assessment described in Section 53E-4-303;
      (ii) a high school assessment described in Section 53E-4-304;
      (iii) a college readiness assessment described in Section 53E-4-305;
      (iv) an assessment of students in grade 3 to measure reading grade level described in Section 53E-4-307; or
      (v) a nationally norm-referenced assessment.
  • Authorized Use of Funds:
    • Synopsis:

      Private School Tuition
      Online Education
      Education Therapies
      Private Tutoring
      Public School Services (Classes and/or Extracurricular)
      Transportation
      Textbooks
      Curricula and Supplementary Materials
      Computers/Technology
      Testing Fees
      Summer/Afterschool learning (not daycare)
      CTE / Industry Credentials
      Other Approved by Admin

      , Statute Language:

      -10 Scholarship expense means an expense described in Section 53F-6-402 that a parent or scholarship student incurs in the education of the scholarship student for a service or goods that a qualifying provider provides, including:
      (a) tuition and fees of a qualifying provider;
      (b) fees and instructional materials at a technical college;
      (c) tutoring services;
      (d) fees for after-school or summer education programs;
      (e) textbooks, curricula, or other instructional materials, including any supplemental materials or associated online instruction that a curriculum or a qualifying provider recommends;
      (f) educational software and applications;
      (g) supplies or other equipment related to a scholarship student's educational needs;
      (h) computer hardware or other technological devices that are intended primarily for a scholarship student's educational needs;
      (i) fees for the following examinations, or for a preparation course for the following examinations, that the program manager approves:
      (i) a national norm-referenced or standardized assessment described in Section 53F-6-410, an advanced placement examination, or another similar assessment;
      (ii) a state-recognized industry certification examination; and
      (iii) an examination related to college or university admission;
      (j) educational services for students with disabilities from a licensed or accredited practitioner or provider, including occupational, behavioral, physical, audiology, or speech-language therapies;
      (k) contracted services that the program manager approves and that an LEA provides, including individual classes, after-school tutoring services, transportation, or fees or costs associated with participation in extracurricular activities;
      (l) ride fees or fares for a fee-for-service transportation provider to transport the scholarship student to and from a qualifying provider, not to exceed $750 in a given school year;
      (m) expenses related to extracurricular activities, field trips, educational supplements, and other educational experiences; or
      (n) any other expense for a good or service that:
      (i) a parent or scholarship student incurs in the education of the scholarship student; and
      (ii) the program manager approves, in accordance with Subsection (4)(d).
      -11 Scholarship funds means:
      (a) funds that the Legislature appropriates for the program; and
      (b) interest that scholarship funds accrue.