Utah and Florida are this year's joint winners of the Frank Newman Award for State Innovation, given by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) for excellence in education policy and policymaking.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Utah Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert will accept the award in Florida next month at the 2005 National Forum on Education Policy.

Utah was chosen because of efforts to provide one of the most affordable higher education systems in the country by keeping tuition low compared to other states.