USBE outlines Utah Fits All (UFA) changes: new program manager, 993 school code and LEA responsibilities for cross‑enrollment checks

The Utah State Board of Education told LEAs during a data webinar that Odysee (Odyssey) has replaced ACE as the program manager for the Utah Fits All (UFA) scholarship program and that LEAs will need to work directly with the new manager to validate scholarship eligibility and cross‑enrollment.

Cliff, a USBE staff member, said the contract with ACE ended on May 15 and Odysee is the new program manager. USBE has handed off contact information for awarded and applicant students to Odysee and urged LEAs to work directly with the program manager for provider qualification and cross‑enrollment resolution.

Key operational change: school code 993 USBE plans to use a dedicated school number (993) to identify UFA scholarship enrollments and will provide level‑2 warnings where a 993 enrollment appears to overlap with an enrollment at another LEA. Cliff said the 993 code is intended as an identifying mechanism, not as a full policy enforcement gate. If a student appears both as a 993 enrollment and an enrollment at another LEA, the system will issue a warning indicating a cross‑enrollment that must be resolved between the LEA and Odysee.

Cliff explained USBE’s role is shifting from acting as the primary verifier to facilitating communications: “Our intent is to be less the decider on things and more of the communicator,” he said, describing the legal direction that places primary responsibility on LEAs and the program manager to reconcile cross‑enrollments.

LEA workload and privacy concerns Several LEA participants asked who must perform cross‑checks and when. Steven (LEA representative) asked whether each newly enrolling student must be checked with Odysee. Cliff and other staff said the legislation requires LEAs to participate in an enrollment‑validation process; the specific message flows and technical approach (LEA‑initiated checks, program‑initiated checks, or automated feeds) are still being negotiated with Odysee. USBE and Odysee will convene implementation discussions; Cliff said those conversations should occur in the coming weeks and USBE expects to facilitate a broader meeting for LEAs.

What stays the same and what to expect this year Cliff said USBE will attempt an interim bulk exchange with the prior manager (ACE) to provide initial cross‑enrollment data during the transition, but eventually LEAs and Odysee must establish secure exchange methods (APIs or secure file transfers) individually. For the 2025–26 school year, USBE intends the 993 school to be available; LEAs that operate as UFA course providers should use school 993 for scholarship course rosters. Nonprovider districts should not use 993 for normal enrollments. Cliff said USBE will aim to include helpful detail in validation messages (for example, naming the other district where the student appears) to simplify follow up.

Assessment, transcript and record handling Cliff and other staff explained that UFA students do not automatically become regular enrolled students in the state system; many data fields (attendance, grades, special education flags) are not intended to be routed to the state in the same way as public enrolled students. If a parent requests a transcript from an accredited provider, the provider LEA must produce that transcript in the standard manner, but USBE is not planning to ingest those grades as part of statewide student records for UFA awardees. Assessment rostering for a UFA student who takes an assessment at a LEA will be handled via standard test rostering protocols (and USBE plans rostering guidance updates for private/homeschool and UFA students next year).

Next steps and implementation meetings Odysee is newly onboarded and implementation details remain under discussion. Cliff said USBE will facilitate meetings between Odysee and LEAs to determine the preferred technical approach for enrollment validation, and he expects clearer guidance within weeks.

Ending USBE asked LEAs to prepare for additional implementation work: establish contact paths with Odysee if the LEA is a qualifying provider; be prepared for new validation messages tied to the 993 school code; and participate in planned follow‑up meetings to define the data‑exchange approach.