SB33: Incentivizing Students to Graduate High School Early

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Libertas Institute supports this bill.

Utah taxpayers are required to fund over $6,000 per student each year for children enrolled in government schools. To incentivize students to work toward an early graduate, a tax-funded Centennial Scholarship is provided by the state to students who graduate a year or more early from high school.

That scholarship currently offers $1,000 to be applied to enrollment costs at a college or university. Senate Bill 33, sponsored by Senator Aaron Osmond, seeks to increase the scholarship to $2,000 to increasingly incentivize children to work their way more quickly out of high school and into an institution of higher learning.

Of course, few students (or their parents) know that this is an option. To that end, SB33 also requires government schools to notify every eighth grader and his or her parents that the scholarship is available, what its requirements are, and what an accelerated school schedule might look like for those interested.

This is an important bill; many students prefer to “get on with life” than to sit through school. Adding an incentive such as this assists them in this goal while saving taxpayers money on yearly educational costs for children who might otherwise want to graduate early and move on to a career, more education, or other life goals.