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Education in Utah includes the history and present day structure of educational facilities within the state of Utah. Started upon the arrival of Mormon pioneers in 1847, early schools were predominantly Mormon-run, with ecclesiastical leaders organizing schools and teaching Mormon doctrine and scripture.. When Utah became a state in 1896, schools became government-funded, allowing for free public-school education throughout the state. Today, the education system has public, charter, and private K-12 schools. There is also a mix of private and public higher learning institutions throughout the state.

History

Pioneer arrival and LDS influence

Early Mormons fled to present-day Utah – then a territory of Mexico – to escape religious persecution and the Missouri Governor's extermination order, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

For the first two decades after settling in Utah, most schools were organized through church institutions. Classes took place in LDS church meeting houses, and school boundaries followed the boundaries of LDS wards. The schools were each controlled by a local trustee, appointed by the bishop of each ward. Financial assistance was provided almost entirely by those who attended, and thus the support of each school relied heavily on the economic conditions of the surrounding area.

With a lack of centralization and widely varying funding, the quality of education and the curriculum offered varied throughout the state. However, due to their church-sponsored support, the curriculum often taught moral values of the church and even included LDS scripture as supplemental sources. Efforts to centralize curriculum and school policy began as early as 1851 with the creation of the office of territorial superintendent of schools, though the effects of centralization were not evident for several years.

19th century

Schoolhouse in Pleasant Grove, originally built in 1852–53 with additional wings being built in 1864. Now recognized as a Daughters of Utah Pioneers historical site.

During the 1860s, immigration of non-Mormons into Utah, mostly Protestants and Catholics, forced schools to shift from ecclesiastical control to government control. County superintendents were put in place, and the legal responsibility for the establishment and overseeing of schools was transferred from the Bishop to city councils. Local governments began to collect taxes to help with teacher salaries and school supplies. Though Utah Mormons had been relatively isolated, the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 ushered in a much larger population of non-LDS groups. Many of these new minority groups sought to “Christianize” the majority LDS population, despite Mormonism being a Christian denomination.. Protestants, in particular, sought to rid themselves of the "Mormon problem" intellectually by schooling the children of Utah and converting them. They established mission schools for this purpose, the first of which was St. Mark's School, built in 1867, which still exists today. These schools also served the purpose of providing private education, free from Mormon doctrine and influence.

By 1870, most public schools still required fees to provide salaries and materials, resulting in a push for publicized education. The legislature began using territorial receipts to provide these funds. The now 20% non-LDS population resisted the idea of funding going to public schools which were still essentially Mormon-dominated schools. The minority religions called for a separation of church and state, a call made more significant as the Territorial Superintendent of District Schools at the time was John Taylor, the third president of the LDS church, who had defeated the first liberal candidate to run, M.W. Ashbrook.

In 1887, the federal government stepped in, issuing the Edmunds–Tucker Act which required changes to many of the Church's political and social practices. Among these changes were the call to end the practice of polygamy and the abolishment of the territorial Superintendent of Schools. Instead, the Territorial Supreme Court was given appointment power of a "commissioner of schools" who would have the role of approving texts used in the schools and integrating Mormon and non-Mormon students and teachers. Soon after, legislation passed the School Law of 1890 which made public education essentially free throughout the territory. When Utah achieved statehood in 1896, this law expanded to make the school's government-funded and completely free from sectarian control.

20th century

Utah children reading in school, Santa Clara, Utah, 1940

As the 19th century passed into the 20th, Utah became one of the first states to equalize education throughout the state.In 1919, the first compulsory attendance laws were passed in Utah, leading to increased enrollment in schools. As enrollment of students increased in the public school system, new problems would arise that would challenge the state.

Conflicts between church and state

The conflict between church and state was a common issue that existed in public schools in Utah during this time. Utah boasted one of the lowest private enrollments in the nation toward the beginning of the 20th century (0.5%), but families who were not members of the dominant church population in Utah felt that the public schools were essentially private because of the heavy influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church attempted to create a system of private schools in response to Protestant education reforms, but those schools were adopted into public schools, which led to the low private school enrollment rate.

Financial crises and reforms

After World War II, attention turned from wartime industries in Utah back to peacetime work which included improving education. One of the themes defining education in Utah is that students have received above-average test scores despite the deprivation of funds. This can be attributed partially to Utah's above-average birth rate as compared to the nation. After World War II, teachers and schools started to take a stand and seek greater funding from the government. Teachers found this to be difficult during the governorship of J. Bracken Lee (1949–1957) because of his sweeping budget reforms and his objection to receiving federal aid. Lee left office, governors sought ways to provide more money to teachers and the education system, but these moves proved insufficient.

In 1960, about 12 percent of teachers in Utah left for other jobs in the state, due partially to insufficient salaries. Many students who were trained to be teachers took teaching jobs outside of Utah, leaving about half of the teaching jobs in Utah filled by people who were uncertified or certified through questionable means. Other issues that contributed to teachers leaving work had to do with the maintenance of buildings. Some schoolhouses were falling apart, including roofs of buildings collapsing during school hours, which prevented effective teaching. In May 1964, the financial crisis became so extreme that the National Education Association (NEA) sanctioned the state education system in Utah, the first time it had done this to a whole state in its history. After Cal Rampton, a democratic governor elected after Lee, fixed some of the financial issues that brought about the sanctions from the NEA, the sanctions were lifted in 1965. After Rampton conducted his educational reforms, providing the schools more funds, schools began operating again, though student performance was no longer above the national averages.

A publication released by the National Commission of Excellence in Education in 1983 ranked students in the US below average as compared to other developed and developing countries around the world, prompting additional educational reforms in Utah and throughout the United States. Utah's governor, Scott Matheson, adopted new goals which helped improve education in Utah following the trends of the US.

Indian Placement Program (1953–1996)

Main Article: Indian Placement Program

The Indian Placement Program was an official program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to provide opportunities for children of Native Americans to receive an education in the schools that were dominated by the white settlers in the Mormon Corridor. The program stemmed from the Church's desire to invite the Native Americans or "Lamanites" into the church and become one people with them.

The Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City that ran from 1950 to 1984

The church invited Native American children to live with an active family in the city for the school year as they attended the local school near their "foster" home. To participate in the program, a child needed to be a baptized member of the church, be relatively free of emotional oddities, want to be educated, and keep good grades. Their biological parents would sign a form to allow them to participate in the program. The church and the "foster" family would provide for the remaining needs of the child. The program reached maximum enrollment in the 1970s at about 5,000 students.

There were mixed reactions regarding involvement in the program. Some participants felt the program helped them, while others felt that their involvement in the program took them away from their culture, which they could no longer identify with. Other critics claimed that the church was kidnapping children to indoctrinate them into their faith and culture, while others claimed it harmed the children's psychological welfare because of their separation from their biological parents.

As schools on reservations improved throughout the 1980s, enrollment in the Indian Placement Program fell until the church officially ended the program in 1996.

Present Day

Primary and Secondary Education

For a comprehensive list of school districts in Utah, see: List of school districts in Utah

Public education in Utah follows the K-12 system in which students attend primary and secondary schools of which there are three kinds throughout the state: public, charter, and private.

The Utah State Board of Education oversees all public education legislation and standards throughout the state including all public and charter schools (which are funded through the state). There are currently forty-two public school districts with a total student population of 666,858 and a student-teacher ratio of 1:21.66 The approved public education budget for the 2020 fiscal year was $5.6 billion, and the state graduation rate for 2019 was 87.4%. c

In addition to public and charter schools, there are approximately 166 private schools operating throughout the state.

Higher education

For a comprehensive list of secondary education, see List of colleges and universities in Utah

Utah has eight public colleges and universities within the Utah System of Higher Education: the University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, Dixie State Univeristy, Utah Valley University, and Salt Lake Community College. The system is governed by the state legislated Utah State Board of Regents, whose members are appointed by the governor.

Private institutions in Utah include Brigham Young University and Westminster College among others.