You Already Paid for This Online School Benefit. Most Utah Families Have Never Used It.

Your family already owns an education benefit you have probably never used. Since 2011, Utah's Statewide Online Education Program (SOEP) has let any student in grades 6 through 12 take online courses tuition-free, funded by the taxes you already pay. Your student keeps their current school and adds the class they need, or several, up to a full course load. And if your family needs a bigger change, full-time online school is open to every Utah student in grades K-12 right now.

Why You Have Never Heard of Utah's SOEP

You are not behind. The system is. In 2024, the Utah Legislature's auditors reviewed the program and found that its enrollment process leaves families unaware of the options available to them. In 2023 alone, more than 1,100 enrollment requests were rejected for one reason: families got tangled in a registration process that required signing up on two separate systems. The audit also found that only 11 percent of enrollments over five years were reviewed by school counselors, the people best positioned to tell you the program exists.

The state is making improvements. And at Utah Virtual Academy, our enrollment team walks your family through every required step so no student gets lost in paperwork.

Part-Time Online Classes: Start With One, or Take Several

Families use SOEP for every kind of student and at every scale, from a single course to a full schedule. A student in a rural district takes the course no local school offers. An athlete or performer builds class time around training and travel. A high achiever clears a schedule conflict and moves faster. One of our students used SOEP to enroll at Mountainland Technical College, where she is finishing a CNA program and an associate degree while still in high school.

“For many families who come to Utah Virtual Academy, SOEP is the reason online learning was ever an option. Wherever a student lives, they get the same highly qualified Utah teachers, trained specifically in online delivery, and the same Core-aligned coursework as a student in the largest district.”

Meghan Merideth, UTVA Executive Director

When Your Student Needs a Full-Time Online School

Some families are not looking for courses. They are looking for a school that fits. UTVA's full-time program serves students in grades K-12 with live daily instruction from certified Utah teachers, small class sizes, and a complete curriculum aligned to Utah State Standards, including electives, career and technical education pathways, and concurrent enrollment. Counselors, advisors, and support staff stand behind every student. It is school built around the student, not the building.

Lacey Robinson, UTVA's Elementary School Principal, has spent 14 years at the school in nearly every role, from teacher to math interventionist to principal. She knows the misconception families carry in the door.

“People think we're a homeschool program. We're not. Our teachers are licensed Utah teachers, our students attend live classes, and I do all the same things the principal down the road does. I just have to be more creative about how I do them.”

Lacey Robinson, UTVA Elementary School Principal

Flexible Does Not Mean Easier

Merideth is direct about what online learning asks of students.

“Online education done well is not a lesser version of the classroom. It changes the conditions, not the expectations. Done well, it asks more of them, not less.”

Meghan Merideth, UTVA Executive Director

Students at UTVA manage their time, stay self-directed, and meet the same graduation standards as every student in Utah.

How to Claim It

Getting started takes three steps. Choose your path, full-time or part-time. Apply online. Start learning. Open enrollment for the 2026-27 school year runs through October 1, with monthly cohorts after that as space allows. Enroll full-time at utahvirtualacademy.org/enrollment, explore SOEP courses at utahvirtualacademy.org/academics/soep, or call LuAnn Charles, our Student Services Administrator, at (801) 688-2104. Your family already paid for this. This is the year to use it.