Candidates support statewide standards but stress local control over curriculum and book review

During a Utah County Republican Party forum, both candidates voiced support for statewide learning standards while insisting curriculum choices and classroom implementations remain under local control.

One candidate, drawing on experience as a teacher and city council member, said common standards help students move between districts but that local schools and teacher teams should select curriculum and classroom approaches. "I really appreciated that we had some common standards for what we were going to teach so that my student could move to another place in the state," she said, adding that local school boards and librarians should have tools and parent input for reviewing materials.

On the question of "book bans," both candidates favored parent review and librarian discretion supported by teacher and parent committees for higher-risk materials at the junior-high and high-school levels. They said inappropriate materials should be removed when they are judged unsuitable for students while cautioning against politicized or blanket censorship.

The candidates described the review process they favor as collaborative and anchored in parental input, teacher expertise and librarian vetting rather than a purely top-down or constitutionally framed ban.