Utahns consistently rate education as a top priority, but the Beehive State has fallen behind in school. On a per-student basis, we spend less than any other state in the nation. The majority of our graduating seniors are not prepared for college, and we rank in the bottom ten percent for overall student achievement. Our classrooms are bloated; our teachers are underpaid. As of last year, state school board elections require candidates to declare party affiliation, which could result in more polarized elections, alienation of LGBT students, and danger for children of immigrants.
Our partner organization, the ABU Education Fund, has joined as a plaintiff in a lawsuit to challenge the partisan requirements to run for the state school board, but we’ve got a long road ahead of us. Learn more about how you can support our legal efforts and help Utah students make the grade.
Failure to act on student loan interest rates highlights Congress’s continued disfunction
Salt Lake City – In light of Congress’s failure to prevent an increase in student loan rates, progressive advocacy group Alliance for a Better UTAH …
Miss Utah’s gaffe is our fault, too
We all have seen it. We all have heard it. We all have gasped, laughed and been utterly shocked by Miss Utah’s answer at the …
New national report details corporate manipulation in Utah schools
Salt Lake City – A new report released this morning by the Alliance for a Better UTAH and its partners details the damaging influence the …
Student perspectives get lost at legislative session
Education has lost out recently in attention to gun rights, the attorney general, and air quality, but during the legislative session the biggest question is …
Meet Neah Bois, summer student blogger
Neah Bois is a high school sophomore at Waterford School and one of Better UTAH’s student bloggers this summer. She’ll be posting regularly about how …
Deficit drops despite pessimism and partisanship
A funny thing is happening on the way to the next debt ceiling showdown. When we last left our congressional super heroes they had tied …
Money earmarked for wolves should go to education
Every penny counts when money is tight. That’s why the appearance of $300,000 in the Utah state budget to combat wolves–wolves that as of yet …
Dyslexic students deserve attention, too
Currently in the state of Utah, special education accommodates everyone from students with physical disabilities such as deafness or blindness to mental disabilities like autism …