The Whole Camel is in the Tent
Utah becomes the first state in the country to pass a universal school voucher
By Matthew Ladner, Ph.D.
February 13, 2007
In a fantastic victory for Utah children, on Friday the Utah legislature passed the Parent Choice in Education Act, the nation's first ever school voucher for all schoolchildren. Governor Huntsman awaits the bill's arrival on his desk for signature.
Under this system, public school children of all income levels will be eligible for a voucher, but greater levels of aid will be given to children from lower- income families. This is an elegant solution to the argument concerning targeted versus universal school choice programs. The program will be both broad and targeted. The program will also be statewide, rather than concentrated on a single city or restricted to particular categories of students.
Sadly, the bill minimizes the amount of healthy competitive pressure on the public schools with "mitigation funds." The state will use these funds to pay public schools for five years for students they lose through vouchers. This provision wouldn't make much sense in any voucher program, but in a state expecting a nearly 50 percent increase in the under 18 population by 2030, it is absurd.
Nevertheless, the Parent Choice in Education Act represents an important milestone for the choice movement, and a friendly challenge to Arizona's quest to maintain leadership in school choice.
Matthew Ladner is vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute.
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