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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Oversimplification of Virginia election results could hinder student learning
Read More: Oversimplification of Virginia election results could hinder student learningThe reaction to Virginia’s recent gubernatorial election is an example of the tendency to oversimplify the interpretation of an election into a basic political narrative. Such oversimplification could hinder curriculum…
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Robust curriculum transparency will build parent-teacher partnership
Read More: Robust curriculum transparency will build parent-teacher partnershipJust as every college course gives students a syllabus – an outline of topics that will be discussed and the resources that will be used – our K-12 public schools…
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Sutherland Institute testimony in support of improved curriculum transparency
Read More: Sutherland Institute testimony in support of improved curriculum transparencySutherland Institute supports and will continue to advocate for enhanced curriculum transparency for grades K-12.
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Why complete transparency is needed in deciding what to teach in the classroom
Read More: Why complete transparency is needed in deciding what to teach in the classroomSutherland research makes clear that most parents in Utah still trust most teachers. And most teachers in Utah hold sacred their duty to teach. This parent-teacher partnership is key to…
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Perfectionism and the American story
Read More: Perfectionism and the American storyUnder the guise of penitent cultural self-examination, critics of American values and institutions have argued that the faults of America’s past unavoidably undermine all that is good in America now.…
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Celebrating our founding ideals: A Q&A with Celebrate Freedom author Bill Mattox
Read More: Celebrating our founding ideals: A Q&A with Celebrate Freedom author Bill MattoxIn a Q&A with Sutherland’s Derek Monson, Bill Mattox of the James Madison Institute explains his Celebrate Freedom curriculum, which has reached over a million Florida high school students.
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A thoughtful discussion of critical race theory and civics education
Read More: A thoughtful discussion of critical race theory and civics educationThinking beyond race – do our worries about things like the health of our democracy stem solely from the arguments, beliefs or tactics of our political opponents, or are they…
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Learning about America through primary sources: Emancipation Proclamation
Read More: Learning about America through primary sources: Emancipation ProclamationStudents today are bombarded with messages about America – our history, slavery and race relations. Certainly, no student would be prepared for these widespread discussions without being aware of and…
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Strengthen education choice – and depoliticize the classroom
Read More: Strengthen education choice – and depoliticize the classroomFive policy options in particular stand out for increasing access to public school, private school and school-at-home education choice options.
