Utah families spent $94.7 million through the state's Fits All voucher program in the 2025-26 school year. Private school students outnumbered homeschoolers for the first time, according to a spending report from Odyssey, the company Utah hired to manage the program.
The data, first reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, shows 14,522 students participated statewide. About 16.8% of first-time recipients had been enrolled in public school the year before.
Granite School District, which serves most Millcreek students, saw enrollment fall 4.5% in 2025-26, according to a Utah Policy report on Utah State Board of Education data. No available data breaks out how much of that decline is tied to the voucher program versus demographic shifts. Superintendent Ben Horsley said during discussions about potential school closures that the district has lost more than 20,000 students over the past decade, according to ABC4.
Where the money went
The bulk of the $94.7 million went to tuition and fees: roughly $57 million, with about $48 million flowing directly to private schools. Another $27 million covered educational goods such as curriculum materials. The remaining $10.6 million paid for services like tutoring.
In the program's first year, about 80% of recipients were homeschooled. By 2025-26, that figure dropped to roughly 47%, with just over half attending private school.
Only students in private school or homeschool are eligible.
Private school students received $8,000 scholarships. Homeschoolers received less: $4,000 for children ages 5 to 11 and $6,000 for those 12 to 18.
Spending restrictions tighten
The 2025-26 numbers reflect an overhaul lawmakers passed under HB455 in 2025. That law capped extracurricular and physical education expenses at 20% of each scholarship and banned purchases like ski passes, furniture, clothing and playground equipment.
The restrictions followed a troubled debut. The Tribune reported that first-year extracurricular spending totaled at least $7.3 million in eight months, including visits to medieval castles in England and surf lessons in Hawaii.
Under the tighter rules, just 3% of the $94 million went to extracurricular and physical education expenses. Only 16 students reached the extracurricular spending limit.
Constitutional challenge pending
Third District Court Judge Laura Scott ruled in April 2025 that Utah Fits All was unconstitutional because it is "not open to all children of the state." The Utah Education Association (UEA), the state's largest teachers' union, had sued in May 2024, arguing the program misused state income tax dollars the Utah Constitution reserves for public education.
UEA President Renée Pinkney told KUTV in July, "The UEA will keep defending this win and the principle behind it: public money belongs in public schools."
The state appealed, and the case has been pending before the Utah Supreme Court since April 2025. Two justices are retiring, and lawmakers expanded the court from five to seven seats in 2026. An appellate attorney told KUTV oral arguments likely won't happen until the full bench is seated, possibly this fall.
Statewide, public school enrollment fell for the third straight year in 2025-26, dropping 1.7% to 656,311 students. Granite was among the large districts reporting the steepest declines.
The voucher program is growing. For the 2026-27 school year, funding rose to roughly $120 million, and about 18,700 students received scholarships, according to Odyssey.
