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.
Comprehensive sex-ed is violence prevention
I was 18 years old and a few months into my first semester at college when I was sexually assaulted by a friend in the …
Tax reform falls short this session, but conversation continues
This article originally appeared on ABC 4. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) – Time ran out on a massive …
All the things the Utah State Legislature did to your life this year
This article originally appeared on Fox 13. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — What just happened? The Utah State Legislature just …
‘It’s a lot like The Hunger Games’: Utah education groups react to push to spend income tax money on things beyond public schools
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. Brad Asay said he was “flabbergasted” and “perplexed” to learn …
Press Release: Better Utah responds to tax bill announcement
PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2019 Salt Lake City, UT – In response to the announcement that the Legislature will not be passing tax …
Despite pending Utah Supreme Court ruling, Senate committee approves bill to have partisan elections for the state Board of Education
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. A Republican state senator has proposed allowing candidates for the …
Press Release: Tax Revenue Funds Programs We All Use
PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 3, 2019 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee heard H.B. 441, Tax Equalization and …
Can the Board of Education be partisan? Utah Supreme Court justices call state’s argument ‘thin’ and ‘almost nonsensical’, but acknowledge ambiguity in the law
This article originally appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. A lawyer for the state of Utah argued Friday that …