On March 13, 2025, the USBE published important clarifying information about the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program. Please see critical FAQs below and click to their website for additional information.

What is the status of the contract with ACE Scholarships?

The contract with ACE Scholarships, the current UFA program manager, is being terminated for convenience effective May 15, 2025. A new Request for Proposal (RFP) will be released no later than Wednesday, March 19, 2025, to select a program manager/financial administrator to administer the program to the standards and requirements outlined in the new law. The law requires full cooperation on the part of ACE Scholarship to ensure a seamless transition to a program manager on May 16, 2025.

Impact on Families

Will this affect my child’s current scholarship eligibility or funding?

As of March 6, 2025, additional eligibility requirements have been put in place, including:

• Stronger residency requirements (additional verification may be needed)
• Updated income verification (if applicable)
• Stricter reporting guidelines for use of funds
• More precise definitions for private schools (not all institutions qualify)
• Requiring specific documentation for non-traditional learners, including homeschoolers taking college courses
• Different amounts of scholarship funds for private school and home school students

With this new bill, will I need to submit a new application for the UFA scholarship?

Any applications for renewal of an existing scholarship or new scholarships received to date will not need to be resubmitted. However, additional documentation may be required for verification under the new guidelines. If the program manager, ACE Scholarships, has an application (either for renewal or a new application) ACE Scholarships may require additional verification or documentation — to the extent necessary — to ensure eligibility criteria are met. ACE Scholarships will not accept a new application for renewal, or as a new recipient, if you already have one on file. For instance, if you have already applied as a private school student, you cannot change your application (as a renewal or as a new application) to become a home school student, or vice versa.

For more FAQs about expenditures and other issues, please visit the USBE website here.

USBE – Utah Fits All FAQs

The application portal is currently open for the 2025-2026 school year.

According to the 2025 changes in the law:

• The portal closes May 1 of each year
• The Program Manager must provide an eligible student with a decision regarding the eligible student’s application within 30 days of the application deadline

2025-2026 Application Portal & Information HERE

Visit the Program Manager website HERE

Utah Fits All Application Slideshow for New Applicants

To help parents, we’ve created a slideshow of step-by-step application instructions capturing each step in a screenshot with directions. This slideshow followed a “new applicant” parent who selected Tax Commission Income Verification and set up a TAP account.

The law according to H.B. 455 requires all new applicants, including siblings, to have their income verified through the Utah Tax Commission. We recommend all new applicants set up a TAP account. Only those participating in DWS services will be identified during the application process and no further income verification will be required from them.

This is based on the UFA application as of March 26, 2025. It will not answer everyone’s questions nor address every scenario. It does, however, provide helpful insight and guidance. For questions about the application contact the Program Manager directly.

Apply for the Utah Fits All Scholarship here.

The Utah Fits All Scholarship was funded at $80 million for the 2024-2025 school year. The program was appropriated an additional $40 million in ongoing funding in the 2025 legislative session! $20M will be allocated for the 2025-26 school year and the full $40M for the 2026-27 school year, providing opportunity for thousands more students to participate in the program. This will bring the total allocation to $120 million!

Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year:

A scholarship student is eligible for no more than:

• for a private school student, $8,000
• for a home-based student ages 5-11 as of September 1 of the scholarship year, $4,000
• for a home-based student ages 12-18 as of September 1 of the scholarship year, $6,000

“Private school” means a full-time, tuition-bearing educational institution where the student receives the majority of the student’s academic instruction.

Applicants must select either private or home-based as part of the application process.

Every K-12 child who is a resident of Utah qualifies to receive the scholarship, whether they currently attend public, private, homeschool, or are eligible to start kindergarten in the upcoming school year, they are eligible to apply for the Utah Fits All Scholarship.

Current enrollment in any school option – whether public (district or charter), private, or even another public education scholarship program – does not preclude you from applying for the Utah Fits All Scholarship when the application portal is open.

You can make your contingency plans in place for the upcoming school year in case your child is not awarded the scholarship. You can apply for other public education options that require an intent to return or an application. You may also apply for the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship or the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship if your student qualifies; however, you will need to be aware of their application rules and can only accept enrollment in one option at a time.

A student receiving a scholarship cannot simultaneously be enrolled in a public school, district or charter, where they are counted as a student by the public school for funding purposes. To receive a scholarship, you are agreeing to opt out your child from public school. You cannot be funded for both public school and a scholarship.

Does that mean you can’t use your scholarship at a public school (LEA)? There is still an avenue for students to use their scholarship for classes, programs, or services provided by an LEA if that LEA chooses to become a Provider for the Utah Fits All Program in accordance with the law.

While every Utah K-12 child is eligible, scholarship renewals, applicants at 300% of poverty or less, and siblings of approved renewal applicants are prioritized in that order. All remaining applicants above 300% of poverty are then eligible.

According to the law, a program manager shall give an enrollment preference based on the following order of preference to an eligible student:

• who used a scholarship account in the previous school year
• who did not use a scholarship account in the previous school year; and with a family income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level
• who is a sibling of an eligible student
• for any remaining scholarships

According to the law, if the number of applications exceeds the available scholarship funds for a school year, the Program Manager shall select students on a random basis, following the guidelines for first issuing scholarships to applicants given preference in the order of preference defined above.

To maintain eligibility for the following school year, a scholarship student or the scholarship student’s parent shall:

• complete and deliver to the program manager a portfolio describing the scholarship student’s educational opportunities and achievements under the program for the given year; or
• submit results from an assessment as described here in Section 53F-6-410
• The portfolio or assessment described must be submitted:
  • no later than May 31; or
  • in accordance with the assessment schedule submitted to and approved by the program manager.
  • The receipt of the portfolio or assessment results by the program manager is a condition of scholarship award for the following school year.
  • The program manager may not disclose the content of a given scholarship student’s portfolio except to the scholarship student’s parent, unless the parent provides written consent for the portfolio to be used as a sample or example, in which case all personally identifiable information must be removed prior to such use.

A waitlisted student who is not awarded the scholarship in the school year for which they are waitlisted must apply as a new applicant for the upcoming school year.

According to the law, any new scholarship award made during the same year and using funds from an exited student’s account shall be prorated as follows:

• if awarded during the second quarter of the school year, no more than 75% of the annual scholarship amount is allocated
• if awarded during the third quarter of the school year, no more than 50% of the annual scholarship amount is allocated
• no new scholarship awards shall be made during the fourth quarter of the school year

The Utah Fits All Scholarship Program underwent several changes during the 2025 Utah Legislative Session, including updates to the expenses it covers. These changes are outlined below to assist you in navigating the new provisions in the law.

2025 Utah Fits All Expense Changes (H.B. 455 Section 53F-6-401)

“Educational supplements” means:

• materials, tools, and equipment that:
  • are directly related to and necessary for subjects aligned with the core standards the state board establishes pursuant to Section 53E-4-202;
  • are used for specific learning objectives or competencies;
  • support structured learning activities or lessons; and
  • are consumable or non-reusable in nature;
• supplemental learning materials that:
  • directly support or enhance the delivery of instruction in core academic subjects;
  • are tied to specific educational goals or outcomes; and
  • are not primarily for entertainment or general enrichment purposes;
• arts and music education materials that:
  • align with state core standards; and
  • are used in structured arts or music instruction; and
• other educational materials that the program manager determines are:
  • necessary for meeting specific learning objectives;
  • appropriate for the student’s age or grade level; and
  • primarily educational rather than recreational in nature.

“Educational supplements” does not include:

• entertainment materials;
• recreational equipment;
• food or nutritional items;
• furniture or household items;
• general office supplies not specific to an educational activity; or
• other items that do not have a clear, direct educational purpose aligned with academic instruction.

“Scholarship expense” does not include:

• chaperone expenses, except that a family with one or more scholarship students receiving the scholarship under Subsection 53F-6-402(2)(c)(i) may use scholarship funds for one chaperone expense or pass per family, regardless of how many scholarship students are in the family or household;
• season tickets or subscriptions to entertainment venues;
• ski passes or lift tickets;
• access to recreational facilities unless for physical education of the student;
• playground equipment;
• the purchase of any type of:
  • furniture; or
  • a musical instrument;
• apparel; and
• other non-educational expenses as the program manager determines.

20% Limitations

• A scholarship expense for extracurricular activities may not exceed 20% of the total scholarship amount.
• A scholarship expense for physical education requirements may not exceed an additional 20% of the total scholarship amount.
• A scholarship expense for arts and music is not an extracurricular activity.

2024 Utah Fits All Code (H.B. 455 Section 53F-6-401 2025 expense changes highlighted in red below)

“Scholarship expense” means an expense that a parent or scholarship student incurs in the education of the scholarship student for a service or goods that a qualifying provider provides, including:

• tuition and fees of a qualifying provider;
• fees and instructional materials at a technical college;
• tutoring services;
• fees for after-school or summer education programs;
• textbooks, curricula, or other instructional materials, including any supplemental materials or associated online instruction that a curriculum or a qualifying provider recommends;
• educational software and applications;
• supplies or other equipment related to a scholarship student’s educational needs;
• computer hardware or other technological devices that are intended primarily for a scholarship student’s educational needs, not to exceed once every three years for a scholarship student;
• fees for the following examinations, or for a preparation course for the following examinations, that the program manager approves:
  • a national norm-referenced or standardized assessment described in Section 53F-6-410, an advanced placement examination, or another similar assessment;
  • a state-recognized industry certification examination; and
  • an examination related to college or university admission;
• educational services for students with disabilities from a licensed or accredited practitioner or provider, including occupational, behavioral, physical, audiology, or speech-language therapies;
• contracted services that the program manager approves and that an LEA provider offers, including individual classes, after-school tutoring services, transportation, or fees or costs associated with participation in extracurricular activities;
• ride fees or fares for a fee-for-service transportation provider to transport the scholarship student to and from a qualifying provider, not to exceed $750 in a given school year;
• in accordance with Subsection (20)(c), expenses related to extracurricular activities, field trips, educational supplements, physical education experiences, and other educational experiences; or
• coursework or an educational supplement for arts and music that aligns with state core standards;
• a musical instrument rental, excluding purchase; or
• any other expense for a good or service that:
  • a parent or scholarship student incurs in the education of the scholarship student; and
  • the program manager approves

(H.B. 455 Section 53F-6-402)

• A scholarship student or the scholarship student’s parent may not use a scholarship account for an expense that the student or parent does not incur in the education of the scholarship student, including:
  • a rehabilitation program that is not primarily designed for an educational purpose; or
  • a travel expense other than a transportation expense described in Section 53F-6-401.