Utah state school board leaders are buying into President Donald Trump’s plan to let states more freely manage federal education dollars.
The Utah State Board of Education’s stance came in the form of a letter this month that urges Utah’s state and federal leaders to support repealing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which shapes how schools can use federal funding.
As it stands, federal funding under ESSA includes what’s known as Title grants — dollars earmarked for specific school programs, including those that support English-language learners, low-income students, professional development and more.
Under Trump’s plan, states could instead receive “block grants” — lump sums of federal cash that states can use more freely. Opponents say the move stands to reserve fewer federal dollars for students who need more support.
Utah state school board leaders approved an early version of the letter in a narrow 8-7 vote on Sept. 4. The message comes months after the board in April rejected adopting a similar message by a 10-4 vote.
The finalized letter, dated Sept. 10, was addressed to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and shared with several Utah leaders, including Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Burgess Owens and Utah Senate Majority Leader Stuart Adams.
“Utah is uniquely positioned to lead by example and demonstrate to the nation the importance of preserving decision-making at the state and local levels, which serves the best interests of our students,” the letter states.
Board member Cole Kelley said before the Sept. 4 vote that the goal is “moving towards autonomy from the U.S. Department of Education.”
“I think that on a state level, with the expertise that we have in our state, we have a greater ability to address our problems here,” he said.
The seven members who voted against the letter were Amanda Bollinger, Matt Hymas, Carol Lear, LeAnn Wood, Sarah Reale, Joann Brinton and Cindy Davis.
Board is considering ‘waivers’
In its bid for more state autonomy, board members last week separately directed staff to “to identify appropriate waivers under ESSA and bring them back to the Board for potential action.”
A waiver in federal education funding is essentially a state asking permission from the U.S. Department of Education to bend or skip some of the requirements that come with federal money.
States can apply for a waiver if they want to try a different approach, but still must prove that they will meet overall goals for student learning.
In a July “Dear Colleague” letter, the Trump administration encouraged states to make full use of waivers in order to “provide state leaders more discretion over federal programs” and free them from “bureaucratic red tape.”
“The Trump administration’s goal is to improve academic achievement, particularly by strengthening literacy and numeracy instruction, empowering parental decision-making, and returning education to the States,” the letter states.
Should the USBE decide to pursue any waivers, decisions likely won’t be finalized until spring of next year, a USBE spokesperson said.
Lawmakers consider going further
The USBE’s letter comes weeks after state lawmakers initiated talks about what it would mean for Utah to outright reject millions in federal funding for education.
Federal dollars make up a relatively small portion of Utah’s overall education budget — an estimated 7% for the current fiscal year, or $598.7 million out of the total $8.6 billion budget, according to the state’s website.
But when broken down by program, the potential impact becomes much greater.
Roughly a third of the Title grant funding for the state’s “at-risk” students comes from Washington. Federal money also accounts for 19% of special education spending, and nearly 86% of the costs for school breakfast, lunch and other child nutrition programs.
Lawmakers in August argued they wanted to be free of any “strings attached” to federal education dollars, citing concerns that the cost of meeting federal requirements outweighs the benefit.
To determine that cost, the USBE in June commissioned a $120,000 performance audit with a company, GPP Analytics. The audit will examine the direct and indirect expenses the USBE incurs in managing and overseeing federal funds, according to board documents.
Deputy Superintendent Scott Jones at the time said he expects to have the results either this month or October.