The Utah Senate Education Confirmation Committee on Oct. 3 voted unanimously to forward Nate Marshall's nomination to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation for appointment to the Utah State Charter School Board.

Marshall, the governor's appointee to fill the seat vacated by Rebecca Cisneros, will serve the remainder of the term that expires June 30, 2026. Committee members praised his charter-school experience during a roughly 20-minute confirmation hearing.

Marshall told committee members he grew up in Springville and began his career outside traditional classrooms as a research scientist, earning a degree at San Diego State and working on evolutionary biology research. He said he moved into charter education after joining Carl G. Major Preparatory Academy when it opened, later serving as principal and then executive director at Providence Hall in Herriman, where he now oversees three campuses.

"Education's been pretty important to our family," Marshall said, adding that his charter experience led him to focus on inquiry-based learning and building capacity for teachers. He said he is a doctoral student at Brigham Young University studying factors that affect charter high school enrollment.

Senator Reedy, a committee member, asked how Marshall would address achievement gaps after noting charters' state-average performance in several subjects. Marshall responded that the work begins with clear vision and standards, identifying materials and programs that target deficits and building teacher capacity. "Using data to inform our decision making and finding the resources that are going to be able to fill those gaps," he said.

Senator Escamilla asked about state policy to help small charter schools with limited infrastructure. Marshall recommended creating shared resource centers or "collective resource banks" for charters to pool services such as behavioral supports and special-education testing that are difficult for small schools to provide on their own.

Senator Riebe said she would like Marshall included in some regional service-center work; she voiced support for the nomination. John Balderee, introduced to the committee as a neighbor and longtime friend of Marshall's, spoke during the public-comment portion and praised Marshall's community service and work with students.

Senator Heidi Balderree moved to forward Marshall's nomination to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation. There was no recorded roll-call vote in the committee transcript; the chair called for voices and the motion "passed unanimously," according to the record. The committee chair said the nomination will go before the full Senate with the committee's recommendation.

After the nomination vote the committee approved the minutes of its September meetings by voice vote. The committee gave final verbal thanks and adjourned.

The nomination now moves to the full Utah Senate for consideration; the transcript does not record any vote by the full Senate or provide a date for that action.