Utahns for Public Schools

• Home
• About UTPS
• Action Center
  • Candidates and offices
  • Candidate selection process
  • Voter information
  • Communicating with elected officials
  • Information about Utah state government
• Policy Center
  • Good Government and Good Policy Making
  • School Funding and Tax Policy
  • Focus on Class Size
  • Vouchers
• Join UTPS Community
• UTPS Blog
•  

Who Makes the Decisions About Your Schools?

Who determines how your schools operate, how much money they receive and how it’s spent, what they teach, what services they provide? Many people believe in “local control,” but the truth is much more complex.

Congress

• Provides only about 8.7 percent of operating revenue for Utah’s K-12 schools.
• Passes laws and appropriates funds for special education, No Child Left Behind, Title I (education of disadvantaged children), English Language Learners, Indian education, financial aid for post-secondary education, and other areas of nationwide importance.
• Requires states and school districts to comply with federal laws and mandates to receive federal funding.
U.S. Department of Education
• Administers programs created by Congress, including No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (special education). Establishes regulations and distributes federal funds.
• Interprets the law through policies and guidelines that determine, for example, how much “flexibility” states will receive in implementing NCLB.

Utah Legislature

• Responsible for funding prekindergarten through 12th-grade public education under the Utah Constitution.
• Sets preK-12 school funding levels, formulas, tax limits and revenue sources – including local property taxes.
• Appropriates funding for public colleges and universities.
• Sets statewide academic standards, testing and graduation requirements.
• Debates and enacts laws on many other issues affecting education, including teacher licensure and pay, pensions, statewide health insurance for school employees, student records and discipline, school community councils, school choice programs, individual legislator priority projects, and more.

Utah State School Board and Utah Department of Education

• Proposes state legislation and implements laws enacted by the Legislature and Congress.
• Makes rules, as authorized by the Legislature, which local school districts must follow.
• Determines whether schools have made “Adequate Yearly Progress” under the No Child Left Behind Act, and oversees other requirements of the federal law.
• Maintains general control and supervision of the public school system.

Local school districts

• Derive their authority from the Legislature. Districts may spend only what state law provides for, and must adhere to other laws enacted by the Legislature and Congress.
• Authorized to levy local property taxes for particular purposes – some of which require voter approval and some of which do not. (Part of the state funding bill approved by the Legislature every year actually consists of local property taxes.)
• Negotiate with teachers and other employees over pay, benefits and working conditions.
• Determine staffing levels, curriculum, student assessments, student services and activities, school calendars, school facilities, transportation, and other programs as authorized or required by state law, within the budgetary limits set by the Legislature and local voters.

Citizens

• Approve or defeat referendums to raise local property tax revenue for school construction, capital purchases, or additional operating money for local schools.
• Help determine district funding through family decisions on where to send their children to school. (State funding is based on the number of students in a district.)
• Influence school board decisions by applying pressure for or against district policies or expenditures.
• Serve on school community councils that determine some school-level expenditures.
• Raise money for sports and other school activities.
• Influence the Legislature’s decisions through individual or group contacts with lawmakers.