If a scholarship parent disagrees with an administrative decision about a scholarship student's eligibility in the program, enrollment preference category, or suspension or disqualification, they may file an appeal. A link to the appeals form is included in all email notifications that contain a denial or adverse decision by ACE Scholarships. Appeals may only be filed if the decision is made by the program manager; an appeal filed regarding a decision outlined in the Utah Fits All law is considered invalid.
The Utah Fits All Appeals Committee must, by law, be comprised of awarded scholarship families. Additionally, ACE Scholarships has invited UFA Approved Providers, as well as community members to join the committee. The UFA Appeals committee is responsible for making determinations regarding eligible expenses, enrollment preference, program eligibility and suspension or disqualification according to Utah Code 53F-6 Part 4 and its associated codes.
Here is an outline of the appeals process:
Step One: Notification of income preference category, ineligibility for the Utah Fits All Program, or suspension or termination from the program will be provided via email.
Step Two: If a scholarship parent chooses to appeal a decision made by ACE Scholarships, they must submit an appeal within ten (10) business days of receipt of the email notification.
a. To file an appeal, a scholarship student's parent shall click the link emailed to them in their denial notification, and provide the information requested.
b. Appeals submitted after the ten (10) business day deadline will not be processed. An email will be sent regarding the missed deadline.
c. The Appeal Committee may request additional information of the scholarship parent prior to issuing a redetermination of the decision.
Step Three: All valid appeals will be reviewed by the UFA Appeals Committee and a determination will be issued to the scholarship parent at the email address on file with the UFA Program within thirty (30) calendar days.
a. If the decision is affirmed: This means the committee upheld the previous decision. This may result in no action being taken (for example, the scholarship student remains in their current priority group) or an action of account termination (meaning the scholarship student(s) will be withdrawn from the program and the digital wallet accounts will be closed.
b. If the decision is overturned: This means that the committee has approved the appeal, and ACE Scholarships must take the required actions immediately in order to comply with the determination. This may result in actions such as a student's application being determined eligible, a move from one priority group to another, or a reinstatement of their digital wallet account.
If the UFA Appeals committee reverses an administrative decision of the program manager on internal appeal, the program manager may not withhold scholarship funds or application approval for the scholarship student on account of the appealed administrative decision unless as the resolution of the internal appeal expressly allows.