Policy
Education
Human beings are magnificent. We were born with a God-given ability to learn and the capacity to grow. As Aristotle put it, “All men by nature desire to know.” Education is broader than any one school system. It’s a series of opportunities to learn, which should be delivered in ways that allow us to meet the unique needs of children. The growing diversity of our student population requires an equitable education for every child, which contemplates both productive citizenship and employment and which is delivered by the best teachers – whoever they are.
This vision for education requires humility and the pursuit of good ideas – wherever they come from. We can achieve this by empowering parents to create learning paths as unique as the student, rejecting approaches that undermine decision-making authority of those closest to the student, respecting taxpayers as owners of the public education system, and protecting the marketplace of options and the innovators who contribute to it. Education is necessary because each individual has the potential to accomplish great things. Education should reflect these truths, and we believe it can.
NEW: Find the right education for your child
Explore Utah schools, compare education options, and find a learning environment that fits your family using our new tool: the Utah Schools Navigator.
Published Research
Conversations
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Find the right education option for your child
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Find the right education option for your child
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Utah Schools Navigator: Helping families find the right educational fit
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Parents know their children best
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The education debate that's changing America
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Should every child go to the same type of school?
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Who decides where kids go to school?
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The growing demand for school choice
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Why one education system cannot work for every child
Insights & Takeaways
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Education pluralism: The state of virtual schools
Read More: Education pluralism: The state of virtual schoolsFamilies looking for flexibility of time and location while having structure or curriculum organized may be the most interested in virtual schools.
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Education pluralism: The state of magnet schools
Read More: Education pluralism: The state of magnet schoolsA magnet school exists within a public school district and has a specific theme – which could include STEM, performing arts, International Baccalaureate, or career and technical education.
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Education pluralism: The state of home schooling
Read More: Education pluralism: The state of home schoolingHome schooling grew among minorities and special-needs students during pandemic. Utah’s home-school community also increased substantially during COVID-19 era.
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Education pluralism: The state of private schools
Read More: Education pluralism: The state of private schoolsPrivate schools likely saw an uptick in enrollment during the pandemic because they offered a genuinely different option to families who were worried about the effects of remote schooling.
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Education pluralism: The state of career and technical education
Read More: Education pluralism: The state of career and technical educationTo win the working-class vote, candidates from any party would do well to take a closer look at supporting career and technical education (CTE) – the pipeline to many occupations.
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Students need education pluralism
Read More: Students need education pluralismEducation pluralism is a policy environment that supports high-quality schools as varied as the people, values, needs and philosophies that exist in society, and it ensures that students have reasonable…
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Pandemic slide in test scores shows why we need multiple approaches to education
Read More: Pandemic slide in test scores shows why we need multiple approaches to educationThe variety of school options for students ought to reflect the pluralistic society we live in, where students have unique learning needs and differing family dynamics.
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Expanding the scope of Sutherland Institute’s education policy research
Read More: Expanding the scope of Sutherland Institute’s education policy researchWhat would Utah education look like if state and local public policy fully embraced the full diversity of school options?
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Utah State Board of Education candidates general-election debates continue
Read More: Utah State Board of Education candidates general-election debates continueTo help voters in the respective USBE districts become better acquainted with the individuals seeking to serve in these important roles, three more debates will be conducted next week, live…
