From an education standpoint, vouchers make no sense, especially in Utah. At least 96 percent of all students attend public schools in Utah (the highest rate in the nation). Based on experiences in other places with vouchers, the primary beneficiaries will be parents who would have sent their children to private schools anyway. Grand theories aside, vouchers have not improved student achievement – either for students in private schools or for students in surrounding public schools.
Proposed voucher programs, such as recently defeated Referendum 1 in 2007, would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, money that would have a greater impact if it were devoted to research-based reforms like smaller class size, full-day kindergarten, after school programs, and up-to-date books, materials and equipment.
Click on the links below to learn more about why vouchers are a bad idea for Utah's students: