Candidate, State Board of Education, District 11 · Democratic
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Campaign portrait via laceypetersoncampaign.org. Photo: laceypetersoncampaign.org campaign site (photographer uncredited) · Copyright retained by rights holder · laceypetersoncampaign.org campaign site
Campaign portrait via laceypetersoncampaign.org. Photo: laceypetersoncampaign.org campaign site (photographer uncredited) · Copyright retained by rights holder · laceypetersoncampaign.org campaign site
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Lacey Peterson is a candidate for State Board of Education, District 11. The ballot lists Lacey Peterson, Democratic. The district covers all or part of Salt Lake and Utah counties.
Lacey Peterson is a clinical social worker whose professional profile at Wasatch Family Therapy lists an MSW from Rutgers University and work at its Lehi location. The practice describes work with children, teenagers, families and adults, including concerns such as trauma, anxiety, stress and life transitions. [2]
Her campaign says she grew up largely in Utah County, earned a bachelor's degree in school health education from Utah Valley University and worked as a substitute teacher before pursuing social work. It describes nine years of work as a social-worker therapist. The campaign connects that experience to her interest in students' mental health and support for educators. [1]
Mental health, safety and teacher support
Peterson's platform gives student mental health first priority, including protecting suicide-prevention and screening programs. She calls for better student-teacher and student-counselor ratios, physical and emotional safety, and schools where students feel they belong. [3]
Her other stated priorities include preserving access to books and ideas, investing in teacher pay and professional development, retaining educators, and making school budgets easier to understand. She links those goals to practical support for teachers rather than additional administrative burdens. [3]
Funding, books and school policies
In her October 12 Salt Lake Tribune answers, Peterson opposed using taxpayer dollars for private education while supporting families' ability to choose educational settings. She favored locally made decisions on challenged books involving parents and educators, rather than broad statewide censorship. [4]
She said immigration enforcement is not a school function, opposed third-grade retention in the survey's yes-or-no question and supported a bell-to-bell cellphone ban. Those responses are candidate statements, not an adopted policy program or a voting record. [4]
An open District 11 contest
Peterson faces Republican Tracy Nuttall for the District 11 seat being vacated by Cindy Davis. The Tribune's voter guide identifies communities including Lehi, American Fork, Alpine and Bluffdale. The ballot is for the Utah State Board of Education, not a local district school board. [4]
The state board sets statewide academic requirements, while local education agencies retain curriculum responsibilities under USBE rules. That distinction helps explain which parts of a campaign agenda involve statewide standards and which require local decisions. [5]
From the campaign website
The campaign website says Lacey Peterson has nine years as a licensed social-work therapist for young people and families, holds a master of social work from Rutgers and a bachelor's in school health education from UVU, and has worked as a substitute teacher. [6]
The site names student mental health as the first priority, including opposing cuts to suicide prevention and screening programs, along with safe schools, freedom to read, teacher pay and retention, and transparent funding. It opposes taxpayer money for private schools. [6]
This is the candidate's own campaign material, condensed by The Utah Ledger and not independently checked. [6]
Profile sources
Profile refreshed October 30, 2026. Candidate statements describe the candidate's own experience or positions; official records and reporting are labeled separately.
