Parents for Choice in Education

Parents for Choice in Education (PCE) is a Utah education-policy advocacy organization headquartered in Salt Lake City. Its principal focus is expanding school-choice mechanisms, particularly public support for private-school education and scholarship programs. The organization has also participated in debates over charter schools, public-school enrollment rules, collective bargaining, and the relationship between school districts and employee associations. PCE traces its origins to 2002, when it was established as the Utah Education Funding Project. The group was created with financial support from All Children Matter, a Michigan-based organization associated with school vouchers and opposition to teachers' unions. PCE subsequently developed a structure involving three related entities: the Parents for Choice in Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization; Parents for Choice in Education, Inc., a 501(c)(4) social-welfare nonprofit; and a Utah political action committee. The separation of these entities reflects the different legal limits and purposes applying to charitable activity, policy advocacy, and electoral politics. The organization became especially prominent in Utah's school-voucher debates. It played a major role in advocating the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship, a state-funded program supporting private-school scholarships for K–12 students with disabilities. PCE also supported Utah's universal school-voucher legislation, described in contemporary accounts as the first statewide universal voucher program in the United States. That program was later overturned through a statewide referendum, making the campaign an important example of the political controversy surrounding public funding for private education. PCE's advocacy has not been limited to vouchers. In the 2008 Utah legislative session, it supported House Bill 349, which revised open-enrollment rules and extended the period during which students could seek special permits to attend public schools. In 2009, the organization opposed a proposed cap on charter schools. It also sponsored or supported measures directed at public-sector unions and collective bargaining, including proposals concerning the payment of union employees' salaries by school districts, online publication of collective-bargaining agreements, and association leave. One such measure, Senate Bill 77 in the 2010 legislative session, failed in the Utah House of Representatives. The group has attracted criticism over its funding sources and campaign methods. Contemporary reporting described substantial out-of-state support, including money associated with All Children Matter. During the 2007 voucher referendum campaign, Patrick M. Byrne, then founder and chief executive of Overstock.com, was identified as the principal individual funder of PCE's campaign effort. Critics also objected to a PCE-linked push poll that framed opposition to vouchers through references to teachers' unions, same-sex unions, taxation, and government involvement. These disputes illustrate the broader partisan and ideological conflict around PCE's agenda. PCE's public-facing work has included legislative lobbying, electoral advocacy, issue campaigns, and educational-policy communications. Its website formerly used the name UtahEducationFacts.com, reflecting an effort to present school-choice arguments and policy information to Utah audiences. The organization is best understood not as a consumer product brand but as an advocacy platform operating through multiple nonprofit and political entities. Its identity is closely associated with Utah's school-choice movement and with efforts to increase alternatives to conventional district schooling.

Parents for Choice in Education began in 2002 under the name Utah Education Funding Project. Its initial formation was supported by All Children Matter, an out-of-state organization associated with private-school vouchers and opposition to teachers' unions. From the outset, PCE operated within a national and state-level movement seeking to redirect public education policy toward greater parental choice and expanded access to non-district schooling. The organization later operated through three connected structures: a charitable foundation, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy corporation, and a political action committee. This arrangement enabled PCE to combine educational and charitable work with lobbying and electoral activity while maintaining separate legal functions. Its base remained in Salt Lake City, and its policy work focused primarily on Utah. PCE's most consequential early campaign concerned the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship. The program provides state-funded scholarships that allow qualifying K–12 students with disabilities to attend private schools. PCE was an important advocate for the legislation and used the measure as part of its broader argument that families should have alternatives when district schools do not meet a child's needs. The group then became a central participant in the campaign for a universal statewide voucher program. The initiative was notable because it was described as the first universal voucher program enacted statewide in the United States. The campaign generated intense political opposition and was ultimately reversed by Utah voters in a statewide referendum. Contemporary coverage also connected the campaign to major private funding, including support from Patrick M. Byrne, founder and chief executive of Overstock.com. Critics challenged both the influence of outside money and the methods used to persuade voters. One disputed tactic was a PCE-linked push poll that associated teachers' unions with positions on same-sex unions, higher taxes, and expanded government. Political opponents characterized the approach as unfair or misleading. The controversy placed PCE within a wider national debate about the role of advocacy groups, political polling, and privately financed campaigns in education referendums. After the voucher referendum, PCE continued lobbying in Utah rather than limiting its work to a single program. In 2008 it supported House Bill 349, which revised public-school open-enrollment procedures and lengthened the period for obtaining special permits. In 2009 it opposed a proposed cap on charter-school growth. These positions reflected PCE's preference for increasing the number and accessibility of educational options available to families. PCE also pursued policies concerning teachers' unions and collective bargaining. In 2009 it initiated House Bill 328, which would have barred school districts from paying the salaries of union employees, and supported House Bill 210, which would have required schools to publish collective-bargaining agreements online. During the 2010 legislative session it backed Senate Bill 77, addressing district payments for association leave. That bill failed in the Utah House of Representatives. The organization has historically relied in part on out-of-state support. Reporting cited by reference materials described substantial contributions from outside Utah, including money associated with All Children Matter. PCE's communications presence formerly included the UtahEducationFacts.com identity, which presented the group as a source of information and arguments about Utah education policy. Overall, PCE's history is defined by school-choice advocacy, referendum campaigning, legislative lobbying, and opposition to selected forms of public-sector union influence.

• 2010

  Supports association-leave restriction

  [1]Parents for Choice in Educationen.wikipedia.org

  PCE backed Senate Bill 77, which failed in the Utah House of Representatives.

• 2009

  Expands labor-policy advocacy

  [1]Parents for Choice in Educationen.wikipedia.org

  PCE initiated or supported Utah legislation addressing school-district payments to union employees and online publication of collective-bargaining agreements.

• 2008

  Supports open-enrollment revisions

  [1]Parents for Choice in Educationen.wikipedia.org

  PCE supported House Bill 349, concerning the enrollment period for special permits in Utah public schools.

• 2007

  Participates in Utah universal voucher campaign

  [1]Parents for Choice in Educationen.wikipedia.org

  PCE became a leading advocate for Utah's universal voucher program, which was later overturned by statewide referendum.

• 2002

  Founded as the Utah Education Funding Project

  [1]Parents for Choice in Educationen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was established in Utah under the name Utah Education Funding Project, with startup support associated with All Children Matter.

• Adopts the Parents for Choice in Education identity

  [1]Parents for Choice in Educationen.wikipedia.org

  The advocacy organization came to operate under the Parents for Choice in Education name and developed related foundation, nonprofit, and political-action structures.

• Advocates for the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship

  [1]Parents for Choice in Educationen.wikipedia.org

  PCE played a major role in supporting Utah's state-funded private-school scholarship program for students with disabilities.

A Utah-centered school-choice advocacy organization positioned in favor of private-school scholarships, voucher programs, expanded educational options, and limits on certain public-sector union practices.

• Education advocacy · 2002

  School-choice policy advocacy

  PCE's central offering is policy advocacy aimed at expanding the ability of families to select among public schools, charter schools, and private schools. Its work has included support for voucher programs and arguments for redirecting public resources toward student-centered educational options.

• Scholarship and voucher policy

  Private-school scholarship advocacy

  The organization has advocated state-supported scholarships for private education, including the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship for K–12 students with disabilities. This work frames scholarships as a mechanism for giving families alternatives to assigned district schools.

• Public-policy services

  Legislative lobbying and policy communications

  PCE communicates policy positions and lobbies Utah lawmakers on enrollment rules, charter-school growth, vouchers, collective bargaining, union-related payments, and association leave. Its former Utah Education Facts identity served as a public-facing education-policy information platform.

• 2007

  Criticism of voucher-campaign push polling

  Critics objected to a PCE-linked push poll used during the Utah voucher referendum campaign. The poll connected teachers' unions with positions on same-sex unions, taxation, and government involvement, and opponents characterized the tactic as politically misleading and aggressive.

  Source

• 2007

  Controversy over out-of-state and private funding

  PCE's voucher campaign attracted scrutiny because reporting described important out-of-state support and identified Patrick M. Byrne as the principal individual funder of the 2007 effort. The controversy concerned the influence of private and non-Utah money in a statewide education referendum.

  Source

Read more

• 2009Charter-school expansion advocacy

  Utah

  PCE opposed a proposed cap on the number or growth of charter schools in Utah.

  Source
• 2008Open Enrollment Revisions

  Utah

  PCE supported House Bill 349, which lengthened the enrollment period for special permits allowing students to attend public schools outside their usual assignment.

  Source
• 2007Utah universal voucher campaign

  Utah

  PCE was a prominent supporter of Utah's statewide universal voucher program and participated in the subsequent referendum battle. The campaign attracted substantial private and out-of-state support and drew criticism over its messaging and polling methods.

  Outcome. The voucher program was overturned through a statewide referendum.

  Source
• Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship campaign

  Utah

  PCE played a major role in advocating Utah's state-funded private-school scholarship program for K–12 students with disabilities.

  Outcome. The scholarship program was established and became a key example of Utah school-choice policy.

  Source

• 2010

  Backs limits on association leave paymentsStrategy

  Background

  PCE continued to support legislation limiting school-district financial support for union or association activities.

  Action taken

  The organization backed Senate Bill 77, which would have prohibited school districts from paying for association leave.

  Aftermath

  The bill failed in the Utah House of Representatives.

  Source

• 2009

  Initiates restrictions on district support for union employeesStrategy

  Background

  PCE expanded its agenda beyond school vouchers and supported legislation concerning the financial relationship between Utah school districts and employee unions.

  Action taken

  The organization initiated House Bill 328, which would have prohibited school districts from paying the salaries of union employees.

  Source

• 2009

  Supports online publication of collective-bargaining agreementsStrategy

  Background

  PCE promoted greater public disclosure of school labor agreements as part of its education-governance and union-policy agenda.

  Action taken

  It supported House Bill 210, which would have required schools to post collective-bargaining agreements online.

  Source

1. 1Parents for Choice in Educationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Parents for Choice in Education official websitechoiceineducation.org