I'm so saddened by this and the push to consolidate. We've been with MTH/Open Ed for years. We specifically turned down UFA and higher funding because we liked the flexiblity that OpenEd offers. This seems like a USBE effort to force their agenda on families and students.
Some of my kids used Children First Education Fund and it was wonderful. Last year they combined with Carson Smith and are now overseen by USBE. It was voted on and i now regret supporting the idea to merge the two under the premise that it would provide "better education opportunities for more children" . I have seen the opposite, unfortunately. The combined program is now so picky with what things they deem "educational", and they have been very difficult and sometimes rude to deal with. The Utah School Board of Education has no ability to think outside the box and consider non-traditional learning applications or methods. (This is especially disappointing because CFEF was started as a scholarship for special needs students). I would not want that experience for any OpenEd families, and frankly want as little involvement from USBE as possible. I'm definitely opposed to this new bill.
Aisling - Parent