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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Buzzwords and inside baseball: 8 Utah ed questions clarified
Read More: Buzzwords and inside baseball: 8 Utah ed questions clarifiedWhat’s the difference between curriculum and standards? What is civics education versus social studies? What is Critical Race Theory?
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Key takeaways: How can standards for Utah social studies and civics education be improved?
Read More: Key takeaways: How can standards for Utah social studies and civics education be improved?Starting last fall, Sutherland Institute decided to review the Utah social studies standards in grades K-12 by analyzing them for how well they address five fundamental American principles and share…
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Keeping an eye on power: checks and balances for grades 7-12
Read More: Keeping an eye on power: checks and balances for grades 7-12It’s no surprise that the Founders created a government that corrals and channels power to very specific actions through a system of checks and balances. This is part 16 in…
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Civics education is a hot topic – here’s how the 2021 Legislature handled it
Read More: Civics education is a hot topic – here’s how the 2021 Legislature handled itCivics education is top of mind for many Americans. Because of the unrest of last year and this one, it’s become a new hot topic in education reform.
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Hot-button issue of equality in 7-12 standards
Read More: Hot-button issue of equality in 7-12 standardsEquality remains a hot-button issue in America today. Students are hearing about and navigating the topic of equality now more than ever before. Are they equipped? The public school system…
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Do education standards help students’ media literacy?
Read More: Do education standards help students’ media literacy?Free discussion is key to a functioning republic. And free discussion is often enabled and disseminated through media, so long as freedom of the press is alive and well.
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‘Public schools are not religion-free zones’
Read More: ‘Public schools are not religion-free zones’Being truly educated means students understand one of the most powerful forces in the world: religion. This is part 13 in Sutherland’s new series that seeks to examine how Utah education standards…
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Civics lessons from Black Americans: Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass
Read More: Civics lessons from Black Americans: Ida B. Wells and Frederick DouglassIda B. Wells and Frederick Douglass represent just two of the countless Black Americans who we can learn from as we tackle today’s urgent political and policy problems.
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Cox’s education adviser says new tech partly to blame for uncivil civic conversations
Read More: Cox’s education adviser says new tech partly to blame for uncivil civic conversationsThe year 2021 brought with it a new governor and administration, including Cummins, a former member of the Utah State Board of Education.
