About the Scholarship

The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship is a state-funded program that provides private school scholarships to K-12 students with disabilities.  The Scholarship was signed into law on March 10, 2005 by Governor Jon Huntsman and is administered by the Utah State Office of Education.

Audit Declares Program a Success

According to the 2008 Legislative Audit,
"[The] Carson Smith Scholarship is meeting its program goals."

Key findings include:

• 100% of parents who have used the program feel it should continue. (This includes parents who have put their kids back in public schools)
• 89% of parents say their child's academic performance has improved while at a Carson Smith school.
• 91% say their private school provides services specifically for their child’s disability.  Only 21% felt the same about their former public school.
• 900 students have received a Carson Smith Scholarship as of last school year.*
• Read the full audit

^{*Number of scholarship recipients updated by Utah State Office of Education, June 2009}

Notification to Parents

A 2009 amendment to state law requires public schools to notify parents of children with an IEP about the Carson Smith Scholarship annually in writing. Also, students receiving an IEP for the first time are to be notified within 30 days.

Monthly Featured Scholarship Students

Read inspiring stories from students who have used the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarships.  A new student is added to this section of the website each month.

• Link to Monthly Featured Scholarship Students

Scholarship Amounts

The scholarship comes in two amounts based on the amount of special education services your child would qualify for under IEP guidelines.

• $3,865 per year

If your child qualifies for less than 3 hours of special education services per day, the scholarship will be worth a maximum of $3,865 per year.

• $6,442 per year

If your child qualifies for 3 or more hours of special education services per day, the scholarship will be worth a maximum of $6,442 per year.

How to Qualify

In order to qualify for the scholarship, a student must meet the following criteria:

1. Be a Utah resident.

2. Be of K-12 school age (5-21).

3. Apply and be conditionally accepted by an eligible private school.

4. Be eligible for an IEP (Individual Education Plan) from the local school district. A current IEP is not required.

To be eligible for an IEP, a K-12 student must have a disability covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act:

• Speech or language disability
• Hearing disability
• Visual disability
• Orthopedic disability
• Developmental delay*
• Specific learning disability
• Emotional disturbance
• Autism
• Intellectual disability
• Traumatic brain injury
• Other health impairment 

*Developmental delay is applicable to children age 5 to 8.

How to Apply

If your child is eligible to receive the scholarship, the next step is to submit the one-page Parent Application.

• Download the Parent Application for the Carson Smith Scholarship (Link opens a PDF)
• Read instructions for filling out the Parent Application (Link opens a PDF)

Where to submit your Parent Application

Depending on your current school situation, you'll need to submit the Parent Application to one of two possible places:

1. If your child currently attends a public school, you must submit your Parent Application to the special education department of the school district or charter school where your student is currently enrolled.
2. If your student is not enrolled in a public school, submit the application to the Special Education Department of the school district in which the private school your student will be attending is geographically located.

Application Deadlines

 

Since the Carson Smith Scholarship is awarded quarterly, parents may submit applications throughout the year. However, in order to receive the full scholarship amount, you must submit your application by July 1st!

The following timetable illustrates the application deadlines and the subsequent date that the first scholarship payment will be sent to your child’s school.

Application Deadlines

If your application is submitted on or before this date...	Then your first scholarship payments will be received by...	And you will receive the following portion of the scholarship in the first year:
July 1st	September 1st	Full amount
September 1st	November 1st	3/4 amount
December 1st	February 1st	1/2 amount
February 15th	April 15th	1/4 amount

Explanation for using the table above:
If you applied for the scholarship by the first deadline (July 1st), then you would get the full scholarship amount starting at the beginning of the school year.  If you missed the first deadline but got your application in by September 1st, then you would receive 3/4 of the full scholarship amount with the first payment being sent to you by November 1st.

Scholarship Duration

Once awarded the Carson Smith Scholarship, a student will receive the scholarship for three years, provided that the student continues to meet eligibility requirements and continues to be enrolled in an eligible private school.

After three years, an assessment team, consisting of the student’s parents, classroom teacher, and special education personnel from the student’s private school and school district, will decide whether the student is still eligible for the scholarship. The assessment team may extend the scholarship in three-year increments until the student graduates from high school or turns 22, whichever comes first. 

Eligible Private Schools

Below is a list of private schools that are eligible to receive Carson Smith scholarships in the 2009-10 school year.

If your preferred private school is not on this list, please contact that school’s administrators and encourage them to apply for Carson Smith eligibility. Schools can get info about becoming Carson Smith eligible here.  Applications for Private Schools (not parents or students) are due by May 1st of each year.

• See each school's complete contact info
• Learn about school eligibility requirements

List of Eligible Private Schools, 2009-10 School Year

American Heritage School of South Jordan K-12 801.254.3882 American Heritage School of Spanish Fork K-8 801.798.3444 American Legacy Academy American Fork K-6 801.756.4020 Blessed Sacrament School Sandy K-8 801.572.5311 Cache Valley Learning Center Logan K-8 435.753.8811 Canyon School for the Arts Orem K-8 801-225-5065 Caritas Academy of Classical Christian Education Washington K-12 435-986-1440 Carmen B. Pingree School Center for Autism Salt Lake City K-6 801-581-0194 Children's Christian School Salt Lake City K-8 801-971-5085 Christian Heritage School Riverdale K-12 801-393-4475 Clear Horizons Academy Provo K-5 801-437-0490 The Colby School Park City K-7 435-655-3966 Dorius Academy Layton 7-12 801-776-4532 Evergreen Montessori Academy South Ogden K-6 801-479-7799 I. J. & Jeanne Wagner Jewish Community Center Early Childhood Center Salt Lake City K 801-581-0098 Iqra Academy Salt Lake City K-6 801-886-2310 J. E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School Salt Lake City K-8 801-486-3197 Juan Diego Catholic High School Draper 9-12 801-984-7650 Judge Memorial Catholic High School Salt Lake City 9-12 801-363-8895 Kearns-St Ann School Salt Lake City K-8 801-486-0741 Kid's World Salt Lake City K-12 801-243-4991 Layton Christian Academy Layton K-12 801-771-7141 Liahona Preparatory Academy Pleasant Grove 5-12 801-785-7850		Madeleine Choir School Salt Lake City K-8 801-323-9850 The McGillis School Salt Lake City 1-8 801-583-0094 Montessori at Riverton Riverton K-8 801-253-4000 Montessori Learning Center Lindon K-8 801-796-7672 New Horizons Academy Brigham City 2-12 435-734-0551 Ogden Valley Montessori Eden K-6 801-391-1656 Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary Salt Lake City K-8 801-364-5624 Oxford Academy Draper K-12 801-495-2882 Park City Academy Park City K-9 435-649-2791 Realms of Inquiry Salt Lake City K-12 801-467-5911 Reid School Salt Lake City K-9 801-466-4214 St. Andrew Catholic School Riverton K-8 801-984-7500 St. Francis Xavier Catholic School Kearns K-8 801-966-1571 St. John the Baptist Elementary School Draper K-5 801-984-7108 St. John the Baptist Middle School Draper 6-8 801-984-7614 St. Joseph Elementary School Ogden K-8 801-393-6051 St. Joseph Catholic High School Ogden 9-12 801-394-1515 St. Marguerites Catholic School Tooele K-8 435-882-0081 St. Olaf School Bountiful K-8 801-295-5341 St. Sophia Salt Lake City K-6 801-424-1297 St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School Salt Lake City K-8 801-277-6702 Stillwater Academy South Jordan 7-12 801-484-9911 Success Point LLC Draper 2-8 801-545-8814 Wasatch Christian School South Ogden K-6 801-392-5784

Info for Interested Schools

To find out how private schools can become eligible to accept to students using the Carson Smith Scholarship, click the "Read More" button below.

Frequently Asked Questions

To see a list of Frequently Asked Questions, click the "Read More" button below.

Helpful Links

Contact Info for Help

If you have any questions, please contact us:

Laura Anderson
Carson Smith Scholarship Outreach Coordinator
Parents for Choice in Education Foundation
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

352 S. Denver Street #308
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111

(801) 634-4821 - mobile
(801) 355-4723 - main office

 

Or contact the Utah State Office of Education:

Travis Rawlings
Carson Smith Scholarship Administrator
Utah State Office of Education

250 East 500 South
PO Box 144200
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200

(801) 538-7601

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please do not send your Parent Application for the Carson Smith Scholarship to Parents for Choice in Education.  They should be sent to the special education department of the school district or charter school where your child attends school.  Click here for more details.