Broad Voucher Plan Is Approved in Utah

New York Times, February 11, 2007

(excerpt) The Utah State Legislature approved one of the broadest school voucher programs in the nation on Friday, allotting up to $3,000 for any public school student to put toward private school tuition.

Voucher programs in the handful of other states that have them are generally intended for poor families or students attending schools that have poor academic records. There will be no such restrictions in Utah, which has the largest class sizes in the country and until now has spent less per student than any other state.

The Senate approved the bill 19 to 10 on Friday, a week after the House endorsed it by a single vote, 38 to 37. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a Republican whose children attend public schools, has said he will sign the bill into law.

The vouchers will be open to all of the state’s 512,000 public school students. The amount will depend on family income, but even wealthy families would be eligible for at least $500 per child. Students already in private schools would not be eligible.