Say NO to HB331 — School Choice Initiative :: Final Vote in the House

AIM

February 27, 2022

To send a message voicing your position on HOPE, scroll down to email your representative.

Just when you thought the Hope Scholarship bill couldn’t get any worse, the fourth draft or “3rd substitute” is released. Prepare the barf bucket. This was problematic legislation from the get-go, and its expansion of regulations and benefits just confirms that this is another government entitlement and dependency bill. We’re no fans of how the public school system is run–putting private and home schools under the Utah State Board of Education is a bad move.

It is NOT for every student (income levels have been capped). It is wealth re-distribution.
NOT every student is eligible (whether it be for income or other reasons).
Monies DO come from the EDUCATION FUND.
Many lines of romantic language within the bill CONFLICT with other lines in the bill.
MORE regulation.
SEVERE regulation.
- Too many strings (assessments, audits, annual reports to USBE and Public Education Appropriations Committee)
  - Related to the above, data will not be private/protected and will be collected and shared as part of the oversight process.
PRIVATE DONATIONS can still be added to the fund and with private donations comes PRIVATE INTEREST (aka ExcelInED?).
LEAs receive money for students they DON’T Serve. (See page 9). This is wasteful.
GOVERNMENT Testing (norm-referenced, standardized and government tests are the same thing).
- Letting a few kids opt-out won’t change the overall effect the assessment has in controlling what is taught to all kids in the private school because:
  - If the private school has accepted scholarship funds and cannot show adequate results on the (ideological) norm-referenced assessments, they will no longer be counted as a “qualified service provider?”
    - As a result, private schools can and will be put on a remediation plan under the USBE rules to improve assessment outcomes.
- Qualified Service Providers/Schools will have to change what they teach to ALL students, not just the scholarship recipients, to continue qualifying for the money…regardless of some students opting out.

Read it for yourself or fill out the email at the bottom of this page to tell your representatives to VOTE NO on HOPE, HB331. The failing public school system cannot be trusted with safeguarding homeschool or private school options.