School Attendance Reforms Put Parents Back in the Driver’s Seat
These bills not only help protect parental rights (as dictated in Utah’s Constitution), but they also provide important support to Utah’s children. Routines and normalcy have been disrupted and it would be wise to give families...
COVID has changed education forever. Let’s embrace the new direction.
There are a few solutions schools should pursue in aiming to be more flexible.
SB 234: Expanding Course Choice to Middle Schools
This bill expands the existing Statewide Online Education Program to the 7th and 8th grades.
Utah parents, it may be time to consider home schooling
Despite the challenges of homeschooling, nearly every family who uses this alternative (or, one might say, traditional) education format will sing its praises.
A New Special Needs Scholarship Program
This year, the Utah Legislature created a new tax credit scholarship program to help special needs families.
HB 14: Changes to Utah’s Truancy Law
This bill improves parental rights in education by ensuring that truancy punishments do not apply to younger children, and that parents of older children are not criminalized for their truancy.
Utah’s Question 1 is just kicking the can down the road
If more money is truly the goal, then let’s stop kicking the K-12 education gas can down the road. Question 1 merely perpetuates a problem—and it certainly isn’t a solution.
HB 234: Clarifying Illnesses for Excusal from School
This bill would clarify in state law that parents may excuse their children from school not only for physical illness, but mental illness as well.
Excusing Absences: Do Parents Need a Reason?
The Alpine School District offers a great example for how public schools can respect the right of parents to excuse their child's absences.
Another Education Ranking Shows Money Isn’t Everything
A new ranking for Utah teachers suggests that things are going pretty well, providing another reason why the Our Schools Now tax increase is unnecessary.