Judge’s ruling challenges Utah Fits All scholarship program that benefits Catholic school students

Friday, May. 09, 2025

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Fits All scholarship program, which provides state funding for students to attend private schools and home schooling, may be in jeopardy following an April 18 ruling by Third District Judge Laura Scott that it violates the state’s constitution because it is not open to all Utah children.

The scholarship program, which began in the 2024-25 school year, provided tuition assistance to 891 students to attend Utah Catholic Schools this year.

“We anticipated that this particular legislation would be challenged,” Utah Catholic Schools Superintendent Mark Longe said. “In just about every other state where scholarship or voucher programs have passed, they’ve been challenged by some groups.”

Aware of this possible wrinkle, Longe and school principals nevertheless reached out through the schools and parishes to families to encourage them to apply for the scholarship for the 2025-26 school year. The application deadline closed May 1. 

The impact the judge’s ruling will have is not certain. The State of Utah has appealed the decision, and the case is headed to the Utah Supreme Court, where arguments could be scheduled in a few months. 

Longe is optimistic that the Supreme Court will determine that the program is consistent with the Utah Constitution. Supporters of the bill and legislators anticipated that the bill would be challenged, as it has in other states and they did due diligence, so “We’re hopeful and anticipate that they will strike down the judge’s decision and let the legislation stand the way it was written,” he said

Dr. Galey Colosimo, principal of Juan Diego Catholic High School and chairman of the nonprofit Utah Education Fits All, is also confident the Supreme Court will validate the legislation enacting the scholarship.

“The Utah Fits All Scholarship program was passed in January 2023 by a two-thirds majority in both the Utah House and Senate,” he said. “It was immediately signed into law by Governor Cox. This year, nearly 17,000 students will benefit from the scholarship. The law itself was carefully crafted to withstand constitutional security. We are confident that the law will be upheld by the Utah Supreme Court.”

Even if the case does not have a positive outcome, Longe anticipates that scholarships will be awarded for the 2025-26 school year and will not be impacted; he recently sent a letter to parents informing them of the judge’s ruling and urging them to apply for the scholarship.

With changes made to the program this legislative session, Utah Catholic schools officials anticipate more students desiring to attend their schools will now qualify. Those changes included increasing the income threshold to 300 percent of the federal poverty limit (from 200 percent last year). Another change limited the dollar amount of scholarship money given to homeschooled students, who last year received more than 80 percent of the scholarships. Restrictions were added to what activities could qualify for disbursement.

“We just remain hopeful [about the outcome],” Longe said. “It’s been a great blessing for parents, I think, in Utah, to be able to have the advantage of really selecting an education that they feel best meets their children’s needs, whether it be home school, private school – in our case, Catholic school.”