"I Want to Destroy Public Education": A Critical Case Study of School Choice in Utah

• In Event: Centering Equity in State Policy-Making Processes

Abstract

The decades long movement to discredit, defund, and de-professionalize public education has taken many forms. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers have increasingly attempted to undermine public education through school choice policies (Bacher-Hicks et tal., 2023; Perera, 2023; Vasallo, 2023; Walker, 2022). These school choice policies have been implemented in various ways and attempted to address multiple perceived problems. The one commonality between all of these policies is that they perpetuate a trend of educational policymaking that tacitly or actively attempts to de-professionalize teachers and teaching (Apple, 2004). The state of Utah’s 2023 legislative session offered a compelling case study into why voucher politics continues to emerge, the rationale behind this movement, and the impact these policies have on educators.

Authors

• Ann Day, Westminster University

• Shawn R. Coon, Westminster University