Parents understand best how each child is unique with different learning needs. You see when you’re educating a child, one-size doesn’t fit all. But what if one-size didn’t have to fit all? What if every child could access the school, or customized education, that worked best for them? 

Now they can! Utah Fits All is a universal school choice program signed into law during the 2023 legislative session! Families can use it to customize each child’s learning with a scholarship that travels to the education options of their choosing.

All K-12 students who are residents of Utah qualify to receive the full amount whether they currently attend public, private, homeschool, or are just starting kindergarten. Scholarships will be available for use beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

It’s for every child, in every zip-code, from every financial background, with every learning style.

Every child in Utah will be able find their fit in education!

Here is the bill signed into law on January 28, 2023: H.B. 215 Funding for Teacher Salaries + Optional Education Opportunities

Here is the law under Utah Code Part 4, Utah Fits All Scholarship Program.

The Program Manager, ACE Scholarships opened the online student application portal on February 28, 2024, and the portal closed on April 22, 2024. The first scholarships will be awarded for the 2024-2025 school year. Student scholarship award notifications will be sent no later than May 3, 2024.

Access the Family Handbook HERE
Visit the ACE website HERE

ACE Scholarships was selected by the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) to run and manage the program. They were selected through a standard business practice called an RFP (Request for Proposal) process governed by Utah’s procurement code. 

The contract between ACE Scholarships and the USBE cannot and does not impose any requirements on ACE as the program manager that are not essential to the basic administration of the program.

What will be required of the Program Manager?

The Program Manager must be a non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status in order to apply. They will be required to comply with all accountability measures and responsibilities as outlined in the law, including but not limited to, not being permitted to harvest data for the purpose of reproducing or distributing the data, protection and confidentiality of personal information, no involvement in guiding or directing any curriculum standards, forbidden from receiving donations from outside sources, and required to provide the most flexibility to providers and to students to accommodate their unique learning needs. The program manager must implement the program as the law dictates.

The ACE Scholarships UFA application process is simple and light touch. Family members will create an account with their email address and a password. ACE will verify the applicant’s identity, as well as their Utah residency with a phone number and date of birth. An applicant may be asked to upload a photo of a government issued photo ID if their information has recently changed. The applicant will then be asked to verify their household income by entering their household size and linking to either their employer payroll or bank through an effortless, secure process. The applicant may also opt to upload documentation manually. Finally, they will enter information for each student whom they wish to apply for, including the student’s name, date of birth and grade level. The last step is agreeing to the requirements of the program.

It’s important to note that an applicant is not required to provide any income verification information. There are a couple of ways that any applicant may manually bypass income verification, with the understanding they will be placed in the last enrollment preference category. The first is on the initial screen for income validation. They will have the option to “continue” or “skip income verification.” If the latter is chosen, they will see a screen reminding them that the application will be placed in the last enrollment preference category. If they choose to proceed, they will bypass income verification.

The second chance to bypass is when they are prompted to enter their household size. Based on the calculation of a total household income of 555%, applicant is asked if their household income exceeds this figure. If they choose “yes,” they are attesting that their income places them in the last enrollment preference category, and no further income information is collected.

Additionally, it’s important to note that if ACE verifies a family is using government assistance, like SNAP, the applicant will not be required to upload any additional information.

For more detailed information about the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program and application process read the Family Handbook here.

Every child who is awarded a scholarship will receive $8,000 from funds appropriated by the Utah legislature. Unspent scholarship funds do not roll over into the next year and are rolled back into the overall scholarship fund. The exciting news; however, is that each year that scholarship amount will automatically increase based on what’s called the CPI (Consumer Price Index), or five-year rolling average inflationary factor as defined by the law.

ACE Scholarships, the Program Manager, is responsible for providing an online portal for the parent of a scholarship student to access the scholarship student’s account, ensuring that scholarship funds in a scholarship account are readily available.

A separate digital wallet will be established for each scholarship student. Parents can expect a single sign on using the ACE Access Portal, where their digital wallet dashboard will inform them of their student’s account balance and any outstanding invoices. The digital wallet is where parents will upload invoices, initiate payments to approved vendors, request reimbursements, and shop the digital marketplace for goods and services using their student’s funds.

ClassWallet is the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program account management partner. The DirectPay feature and the ClassWallet marketplace are both quick and easy ways to spend funds directly toward approved educational expenses with Qualifying Providers. If a parent would like to purchase an education related expense that they do not see offered in the marketplace or provider list, they may pay out of pocket and submit a receipt for reimbursement in ClassWallet (p. 28, Family Handbook).

ACE Scholarships has established an application process for providers of education goods and services to become Qualifying Providers. Qualifying Providers are added to the ClassWallet marketplace where parents can select and pay them directly within the online portal from their child’s account through a funds transfer to ensure accountability.

Additionally, parents can have eligible expenses pre-approved and/or reimbursed for services or goods purchased from a provider who has not gone through the approval process to be added to the list of Qualifying Providers. This means that scholarship dollars can be accessed to pay for eligible education expenses in three different ways:

1. Select from the marketplace of approved qualifying providers
2. Pre-approval of expenses prior to purchase 
3. Requested reimbursement of expenses with receipts

For more details see the ACE Utah Fits All Family Handbook.

Well, this is the exciting part! Finding your child’s fit will be easy. There are so many options. This is the most customizable education program out there!

Here is a list directly from the law of some of the many ways the Utah Fits All Scholarship can be used. You can combine services and goods for a truly customized fit.

• tuition and fees of a qualifying provider such as private schools or microschools
• tutoring services
• fees for after-school or summer education programs
• textbooks, curriculum, or other instructional materials, including any supplemental materials or associated online instruction
• 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
• educational services for students with disabilities from a licensed or accredited practitioner or provider, including occupational, behavioral, physical, audiology, or speech-language therapies
• fees and instructional materials at a technical college
• fees for qualifying exams or prep courses such as norm-referenced, AP, industry certification exams, college or university admission
• contracted services that the program manager approves and that an LEA (public school) provides, including individual classes, after-school tutoring services, transportation, or fees or costs associated with participation in extracurricular activities
• expenses related to extracurricular activities, field trips, educational supplements, and other educational experiences
• 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
• 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, in accordance with statute.

Remember, all allowable expenses must be explicitly for the education of the scholarship recipient. Therefore, the scholarship includes accountability tools to protect taxpayers and ensure the scholarship is used for the intended purpose — To educate Utah students!

For a more detailed explanation of qualifying expenses go here to view Expense Guidelines and Limitations beginning on page 32 of the Family Handbook.

Rest assured that requirements were intentionally kept at a very minimum by the legislature. This program is about educational freedom for families and your ability to customize the education that fits your child best! 

In fact the law has a whole section on your parental rights! In part it says—regarding a parent’s right to academic accommodations, nothing in this chapter restricts or affects a parent’s interests and role in the care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the duty and right to nurture and direct the child’s upbringing and education.

Other protections have been placed within the law specifying that no state agency is granted additional authority over the following:

• to regulate or control a private school, qualifying provider, or homeschool; students receiving education from a private school, qualifying provider, or homeschool or affect the freedom of choice of a homeschool student, including the curriculum, resources, developmental planning, or any other aspect of the homeschool student’s education;
• or expands the regulatory authority of the state, a state office holder, or an LEA to impose any additional regulation of a qualifying provider beyond any regulation necessary to administer this part;
• a qualifying provider has a right to maximum freedom from unlawful governmental control in providing for the educational needs of a scholarship student who attends or engages with the qualifying provider; and is not an agent of the state by virtue of the provider’s acceptance of payment from a scholarship account in accordance with this part;
• a program manager may not require a qualifying provider to alter the qualifying provider’s creed, practices, admissions policies, hiring practices, or curricula in order to accept scholarship funds.

Maintaining Scholarship Eligibility is simple 

In order to maintain eligibility for the scholarship year after year, a portfolio must be completed and submitted annually to the Program Manager either by the student or the student’s parent. The content of the portfolio needs to include a description of the student’s educational opportunities and achievements under the program for the given year. The portfolio can be as simple or as extensive as you choose. ACE Scholarships may not disclose the content of a student’s portfolio except to the parent. An alternative to completing the portfolio is the completion of a qualifying optional assessment outlined in the law that is requested by the parent. 

Every K-12 child who is a resident of Utah qualifies to receive the full amount of the scholarship, whether they currently attend public, private, homeschool, or are just starting kindergarten, they are eligible to apply for the Utah Fits All Scholarship. 

Yes, we said every child! So, if you’re wondering whether you qualify because you’re already in a private school or you homeschool, the answer is yes, and yes!

Enrollment in any school option – whether public (district or charter), private, or even another public education scholarship program – in this current 2023-24 school year does not preclude you from applying for the Utah Fits All Scholarship when the portal opens February 28 to April 22, 2024. The scholarship awards are for the 2024-25 school year.

Additionally, you can certainly have your contingency plans in place for the 2024-25 school year in case your child is not awarded the Utah Fits All Scholarship. You can apply for other public education options that require an intent to return or an application. You can apply for the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship or the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship if your student qualifies. However, you will have to choose and can only be enrolled 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 that becomes an Eligible School in accordance with the law. See our FAQ titled, Can public schools (LEAs) be Providers for the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program?

Yes! An LEA (traditional public or charter school) can become a provider for the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program. In order to participate the LEA must submit a notice to the program manager that contains a description of the classes, programs, or services they intend to offer in addition to the fees for each offering. That classifies them as an Eligible School. ACE must publish a public list of all Eligible Schools. A parent may select to use their child’s scholarship to pay for the offerings listed by an Eligible School.

Students receiving either the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship or the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship cannot simultaneously receive the Utah Fits All Scholarship. Students may apply for all three of these scholarships but may only use one scholarship at a time.

While every Utah K-12 child is eligible, applicants qualifying as low-income and siblings of approved applicants are prioritized to ensure the funds go where most needed first. All remaining applicants in all other income ranges are then eligible. 

Here is the specific order of preference that the law requires ACE Scholarships to follow when awarding scholarships.

1. An eligible student who used a scholarship account in the previous school year.
2. An eligible student who did not use a scholarship account in the previous school year, with a family income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level ($62,400 for a family of four).
3. An eligible student who is a sibling of an eligible student who uses a scholarship account at the time the sibling applies for a scholarship account or used a scholarship account in the school year immediately preceding the school year for which the sibling is applying for a scholarship account.
4. An eligible student who did not use a scholarship account in the previous school year with a family income between 200% and 555% of the federal poverty level (Up to $173,160 for a family of four).
5. All other students.

Income Level Chart

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

10,000 students!

During the 2024 legislative session we were able to DOUBLE the funding for the Utah Fits All Scholarships from $40 million to $80 million! This increases the number of students who will receive a scholarship from 5,000 to 10,000!

Last summer Utah Education Fits All launched a statewide information campaign to build awareness and educate parents about the incredible opportunity the Utah Fits All Scholarship presented to their families. We asked parents to join our movement by pre-applying. Together, with your help, we promised to deliver more funding for more students. Excited families from every corner of the state and nearly every zip code joined our movement in droves before the scholarship portal opened — 20,000 parents, accounting for 41,000 children to be exact!

UEFA then promised to take our numbers to the Utah legislature to demonstrate the incredible demand for the program. Our story was more than compelling, our numbers blew their socks off! We asked you, the parents and families, to advocate and let your voices be heard because your voices matter. You delivered! You sent 10,400 emails to the Executive Appropriations Committee asking them to increase the funding for the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program.

Thanks to the efforts of our united community of families, Senate Bill 2, Public Education Budget Amendments passed both bodies of the legislature and increased funding for the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program by $40M!

By applying for the scholarship and joining our movement! The only way to continuously grow the funding for the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program is to demonstrate demand. The best way to do that is to apply. ACE is required to report the total number of student applications received to the Utah legislature. Let’s make sure that number knocks their socks off!

While the inaugural application period represents an exciting milestone for our movement, our journey together does not end here. Many of your children will soon be awarded a scholarship. The odds are relatively high. You should all be hopeful and excited about the prospects. However, the reality each of us has known from the beginning is that we are in this together for the long haul — not every student will receive a scholarship for the 2024-25 school year. There will be feelings of disappointment, but there should never be discouragement! We just proved our power to initiate change. We doubled program funding in year one!  And we will increase funding again, year after year.

We can’t do this without you — all of you — both those who receive the scholarship this year and those who do not. Your voices have always been a pivotal piece of our shared mission; your unique experiences, inspiring stories, and aspirations for a superior educational future for your children drive us daily. With your help, we are committed to redefining limits and tailoring education to fit every Utah learner. 

Our message is one of hope and determination. If we stick together and remain united as a community, we will prevail in our endeavor to secure funding for each family seeking a Utah Fits All Scholarship. In fact, we’re already thinking about a funding increase for next year! United we foster change — a change that allows every student access to the education that best suits their needs, allows them to pursue their passions, and helps them realize their full potential.

We don’t want any child turned away from finding their fit. And we won’t stop until we can make that happen!

Join our movement!

Join the growing UEFA Community of 20,000+ families representing over 41,000 children who want the freedom and access to find the best fit for their child’s education with the help of a Utah Fits All Scholarship.

Join Us NOW

• October 20, 2023 – Utah State Board of Education selected Alliance for Choice in Education (ACE Scholarships) as the Program Manager for the Utah Fits All Scholarship
• November 3, 2023 – USBE approved the contract with ACE, making them the official Program Manager effective immediately
• January 16 – March 1, 2024 — Utah Legislative Session
• February 28 – April 22, 2024 – Application Portal Is Open:
  ACE will accept applications beginning February 28, 2024, at 8:00 am, and the portal will remain open through April 22, 2024
• February 28, 2024 – SB2 passed both bodies of the legislature, increasing funding for the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program by $40M
• March 2024 – HB529 Utah Fits All Scholarship Program Amendments, a technical clean-up bill for the program, is signed into law by the Governor
• No Later than May 3 — Scholarship award notification for the 2024-2025 school year

Click here to watch our PowerPoint presentation that provides an informational overview of the scholarship program basics. Share the link with your network of family and friends to educate them about this $8,000 scholarship!