Utah spends $683 less educating charter school students than their traditional school district peers, according to a report released Wednesday by The Utah Foundation.
That funding gap will narrow by roughly $200 next year as the state implements SB38, which directs an additional $20 million to charter schools, which are public schools that operate independently of Utah’s 41 school districts.
But while the funding levels between school types are unequal, it is unclear whether they are also inequitable, Utah Foundation research director Shawn Teigen said.
The question of funding equity, he said, is complicated by charter school advantages, like a younger and more affluent student body, streamlined course and activity offerings, and freedom from school transportation laws that require districts to bus students from remote areas of the state.