Utah Board of Education rejects letter to Trump administration over state handling of federal funds

Board member Jennie Earl said the letter was to let people know Utah is capable and interested in managing funds at a state level.

Earl and other members said they’ve been contacted by people asking what would happen to special education students if the Department of Education were to be eliminated.

“The very qualified people that provide their services right now will provide their services. We’re asking that that funding remain in the state and that we are able to use that funding for the purposes of providing for our students,” Earl said. “We have processes in place already. If that money came back right now for Title 1 … we have a mechanism for providing (districts) funding for their students that are at risk.”

Other board members were less optimistic, listing multiple concerns with the state handling those funds.

“I have also not been impressed as I’ve looked back, especially in the last five to 10 years, of how the state has managed education funds,” board member Carol Lear said.

Lear mentioned the Utah Fits All voucher program — established in 2023 from HB215 to provide $8,000 scholarships to qualifying families for private schools and other private education options — as a specific example, saying she believes it’s unconstitutional.

“There is no evidence in my mind to say, ‘The state can do this better,’ and until I see that evidence … I’m not about ready to support an imperfect, granted, federal program that gets money to a very important group of children in our state,” Lear said.

Funding for schools mainly comes from state income tax and property tax revenue in the Beehive State. Currently, the income tax revenue can only be used to fund education and some social services, according to the Utah Constitution.

Still, the state gets anywhere between 9% and 11% of its budget from federal funding for a total of just under $1 billion annually.

Board member Sarah Reale told KSL.com in March that closing the department could impact funding for Title 1 schools — with 41% of Utah’s schools falling under the Title 1 umbrella — as well as special education programs.

“I’m in opposition to this because I do believe it’s important for us to be unified as a nation in education. And this is my personal opinion; I am not confident, based on evidence of the last five years, that our state would do its due diligence in ensuring funding and prioritizing all the programs and students with the greatest need,” Reale said.

On the other side of the aisle, board member Cole Kelley said he doesn’t want Utah to fall into a situation similar to California, where the U.S. Department of Agriculture has warned the state it could lose federal funding for research and education programs due to a state law that limits parental access to student records related to gender identity.

In a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins announced a formal review of California’s compliance with federal law, citing potential violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Speaking to his support for sending the intent letter, Kelley said he thinks California’s predicament speaks to the “divisive nature of politics that we’re in right now.”

“The same thing could happen to Utah with the president of the United States or his cabinet stepping in and saying, ‘Hey, Utah, you’re not following the federal law the way we want you to; therefore, we’re going to withhold your federal funding,'” Kelley said. “That’s why we’re calling this a letter of intent, that we intend to move in a direction that we are sovereign and that we are independent of the federal government.”

Kelley added he thinks the state board must work with the Legislature to increase local and state funding for programs such as Title 1 and special education, among others.

After more debate, the board ultimately voted 10-4 against sending the letter of intent, with board members Joseph Kerry, Rod Hall, Kelley and Earl voting in favor of sending the letter.