Unleashing Education: Innovation for Tomorrow’s Children
Authored by Jon England, Education Policy Analyst
Ask parents what they should do for their five-year-old’s education, and they will tell you the child should be enrolled in kindergarten. It is the standard answer.
Ask any high school student how they feel about school. Most will say, “Fine.” Another standard answer. But fine is not acceptable. “Standard” is not acceptable. Not all children thrive in a traditional classroom.
More parents are realizing they want something different for their child, and this is creating a state of disruption in the education industry.
Here is the good news: A wave of education innovators are creating individualized education programs to address parents’ desires for something different.3 But they face an uphill battle. Cities and counties don’t know how to work with them, pushing them to busy streets or strip malls. State standards for education try to define what a “quality” education is, limiting the innovation in education.
How can elected officials and government entities encourage the growth and expansion of these unique and personalized learning models, rather than over-regulating them?
Read the briefLegalize Starter Homes: Dreaming Big with Small Lot Reforms
Authored by Lee Sands, Local Government Policy Analyst
Increased demand coupled with insufficient supply have made homes in Utah worth $250,000 in 2015 now cost $500,000 or more. At these inflated prices, the American dream of owning property and a home is on life support for too many of our children, employees, and neighbors.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Attractive, affordable starter homes can exist if city councils, planning commissions, staff, and other stakeholders work together to pass the Small Lot and Cottage Court ordinances described in this policy brief. Luckily, these proposals do not require government subsidy, mandate small lots, or burden the taxpayers of Utah.
The key component to starter home legalization is to allow them to be built on smaller lots that homeowners can afford. For context, the price of a half-acre of land in Utah commonly exceeds $300,000. This alone necessitates reforms that allow more flexibility in lot size, shape, and home placement requirements.
Read the briefInnovation & Evolution in the Regulation of Legal Services
Authored by Caden Rosenbaum, Tech & Innovation Policy Analyst
The current disconnect between legal services providers and legal consumers can only be described as a gap in the market caused, in part, by overregulation
The need for innovation in the legal industry has never been greater, and regulatory sandboxes for legal services provide a responsible solution.
Regulatory sandboxes provide a controlled environment for experimentation and close monitoring to prevent consumer harm.
The first, and to-date only, legal services sandbox in the United States is active in Utah.
Rather than relying on assumptions about regulatory policy change, the sandbox mechanism advances data-informed rule making.
Supporting the development of legal regulatory sandboxes—in Utah and other states—holds promise for bringing critically needed product and service innovation to legal consumers.
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Eliminating Barriers to Work for Utah’s Ex-Offenders
Authored by Ben Shelton, Policy Associate
Nearly a third of American adults are arrested by the age of twenty-three. This record and its consequences will follow these people for life. Such consequences remain present even if an offender has paid their dues to society, is qualified for the job, and has proven they will not reoffend.
The difficulty ex-offenders experience finding employment is harmful to communities, as the ability to secure gainful employment is an important predictor of an ex-offender’s successful reentry into society and distance from crime. The harder it is to find employment, the more recidivism increases, and community safety suffers as individuals may return to criminal activities out of desperation.
State governments have struggled to address this growing issue. Instead of making it easier for this population to find work, and thus have a chance at bettering society, state governments have allowed barriers to employment for this group to persist.
Read the briefSecuring States and Individuals from Surveillance
Authored by Leslie Corbly, Privacy Policy Analyst
It’s no secret that consumer data is collected by various private companies. Google, Instagram, and others routinely collect information about our locations, preferences, and habits. The databases that store this information are a valuable resource with many applications.
But private companies and consumers are not the only entities interested in leveraging this information. Governments have an interest in obtaining this data fulfill various government policy goals.
One example are reports that document social media companies collaborating with the U.S. government to craft policies and censor information. Government entities work with these companies to advance administrative goals.
This is one of many examples of a broader trend. Across all governmental sectors, state actors seek to either compel corporate entities to provide consumer information to the government or agents contract with companies whose main function is to utilize highly invasive technologies to serve government functions.
Read the briefUT-Fits Scholarship Empowers Parents
Authored by Jon England, Education Policy Analyst
The shockwaves created by COVID-19 shutdowns continue to be felt throughout the education system. During school closures, parents were able to view firsthand the quality and content of their child’s education as it happened. Many walked away disappointed.
Parents began searching for viable alternatives to what they were witnessing. Withdrawal numbers skyrocketed. Homeschool pods and microschools increased in popularity. Parents were able to creatively find and provide these educational opportunities, but as Utah returned to normal, parents have found this more difficult.
Rising inflation, coupled with an already high cost of living and skyrocketing housing prices in Utah, has put a strain on every family’s budget and limited the educational opportunities of most families.
In 2021, Utah’s Opportunity Scholarship came online, providing an education spending account for families of students with special needs. However, we can do more. Providing a universal education spending account through the UT-Fits Scholarship is the next logical step to empowering parents in education.
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