Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 183 (2022GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Teuscher, J.

Final action

Governor Signed 2/2/2022

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• suspends a test to stay program requirement;
• amends provisions regarding the computation of the case threshold that triggers the test to stay program requirement;
• clarifies when a student may return to school during a test to stay event;
• provides additional procedural requirements for the application of an exception to an in-person learning requirement; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

IN-PERSON LEARNING AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Jordan D. Teuscher
Senate Sponsor: 
Todd D. Weiler
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions regarding in-person learning requirements and test to stay
programs within public schools.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ suspends a test to stay program requirement;
▸ amends provisions regarding the computation of the case threshold that triggers the
test to stay program requirement;
▸ clarifies when a student may return to school during a test to stay event;
▸ provides additional procedural requirements for the application of an exception to
an in-person learning requirement; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
This bill provides revisor instructions.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
26-6-42
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 435
53G-9-210
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, First Special Session, Chapter 7
Utah Code Sections Affected by Revisor Instructions:
26-6-42
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 435
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
26-6-42
 is amended to read:
26-6-42.
 Department support for local education agency test to stay programs --
Department guidance for local education agencies.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Case threshold" means the same as that term is defined in Section 
53G-9-210
.
(b) "COVID-19" means the same as that term is defined in Section 
53G-9-210
.
(c) "Local education agency" or "LEA" means the same as that term is defined in
Section 
53G-9-210
.
(d) "Test to stay program" means the same as that term is defined in Section
53G-9-210
.
(2) At the request of an LEA, the department shall provide support for the LEA's test to
stay program if a school in the LEA reaches the case threshold, including by providing:
(a) COVID-19 testing supplies;
(b) a mobile testing unit; and
(c) other support requested by the LEA related to the LEA's test to stay program.
(3) The department shall ensure that guidance the department provides to LEAs related
to test to stay programs complies with Section 
53G-9-210
, including the determination of
whether a school meets a case threshold described in Subsection 
53G-9-210
(3).
(4) Subsection (2) regarding the requirement to support an LEA's test to stay program
does not apply after the effective date of this bill unless the test to stay requirement is triggered
under Subsection 
53G-9-210
(2)(c).
Section 2. Section 
53G-9-210
 is amended to read:
53G-9-210.
Requirement for in-person instruction -- Test to stay programs --
Face coverings.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Case threshold" means as applicable, the number of students in a school, or
percentage of students in a school who meet the conditions described in Subsection (3).
(b) "COVID-19" means:
(i) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; or
(ii) the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
(c) "Estimated incubation period" means a period of time that the Department of
Health identifies as the number of days between exposure and symptom onset for a given
variant of COVID-19.
[
(c)
] 
(d)
 "Extracurricular activity" means the same as that term is defined in Section
53G-7-501
.
[
(d)
] 
(e)
 "Face covering" means a mask, shield, or other device that is intended to be
worn in a manner to cover the mouth, nose, or face to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
[
(e)
] 
(f)
 "In-person instruction" means instruction offered by a school that allows a
student to choose to attend school in-person at least four days per week if the student:
(i) is enrolled in a school that is not implementing a test to stay program; or
(ii) (A) is enrolled in a school that is implementing a test to stay program; and
(B) meets the test to stay program's criteria for attending school in person.
[
(f)
] 
(g)
 "Local Education Agency" or LEA means:
(i) a school district;
(ii) a charter school, other than an online-only charter school; or
(iii) the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
[
(g)
] 
(h)
 "School" means a school other than an online-only charter school or an
online-only public school.
(i) "Remote learning" means learning that occurs through technology that provides
synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences that maximize student learning and
instructional time.
[
(h)
] 
(j)
 "Test to stay program" means a program through which an LEA provides
testing for COVID-19 for students during an outbreak of COVID-19 at a school in order to:
(i) identify cases of COVID-19; and
(ii) allow individuals 
to attend school in person
 who
:
(A)
 test negative for COVID-19 [
to attend school in person.
] 
during the test to stay
program; or
(B) are cleared to return to school after the estimated incubation period.
(2) (a) An LEA shall:
(i) except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), beginning on March 22, 2021, ensure that a
school offers in-person instruction; and
(ii) 
if the determination described in Subsection (2)(c) has been made,
 require a school
that reaches the case threshold to:
(A) fulfill the requirement described in Subsection (2)(a)(i) by initiating a test to stay
program for the school; and
(B) provide a remote learning option for students who do not wish to attend in person.
(b) [
The
] 
Beginning January 31, 2022, the
 requirement to provide in-person instruction
described in Subsection (2)(a) does not apply for a temporary period 
of remote learning within
an LEA or a given school within an LEA
 if
:
(i) the COVID-19 case rates within one or more schools within the LEA have
surpassed the case threshold;
(ii) the local governing board requests application of the exception by delivering to
 the
governor, the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the state
superintendent of public instruction [
jointly concur with an LEA's
] 
a letter that details:
(A) information regarding the case threshold requirement described in Subsection
(2)(b)(i);
(B) the local governing board's
 assessment that due to public health emergency
circumstances 
within the LEA or given school
, the risks related to in-person instruction
temporarily outweigh the value of in-person instruction[
.
]
;
(C) a public meeting of the local governing board in which the board voted to request
the exception described in this Subsection (2)(b);
(D) a specific and temporary period of time for which the local governing board seeks
a pivot to remote learning within the LEA or given school; and
(E) the measures the local governing board will implement for the LEA or given school
to return to in-person learning following the identified temporary remote learning period; and
(iii) the governor, the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of
Representatives, and the state superintendent of public instruction jointly confer and approve,
or approve with modifications, the request described in Subsection (2)(b)(i).
(c) The requirement to initiate a test to stay program described in Subsection (2)(a)(ii)
only applies if, in consultation with the Department of Health, the governor, the president of
the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the state superintendent of public
instruction jointly determine that a variant of COVID-19 currently affecting the public
education system is of a type that testing and isolation under a test to stay program would be
effective in mitigating the harmful public health effects of the variant.
(3) (a) For purposes of determining whether a school has reached the school's case
threshold, a student is included in positive cases for the school if the student:
(i) within the preceding [
days
] 
number of days equal to the estimated incubation
period
:
(A) attended at least some in-person instruction at the school; and
(B) tested positive for COVID-19; and
(ii) did not receive the student's positive COVID-19 test results through regular
periodic testing required to participate in LEA-sponsored athletics or another LEA-sponsored
extracurricular activity.
(b) (i) A school with 1,500 or more students meets the case threshold if at least 2% of
the school's students meet the conditions described in Subsection (3)(a).
(ii) A school with fewer than 1,500 students meets the case threshold if 30 or more of
the school's students meet the conditions described in Subsection (3)(a).
(4) (a) An LEA may not test a student for COVID-19 who is younger than 18 years old
without the consent of the student's parent.
(b) An LEA may seek advance consent from a student's parent for future testing for
COVID-19.
(5) An LEA, an LEA governing board, the state board, the state superintendent, or a
school may not require an individual to wear a face covering to attend or participate in
in-person instruction, LEA-sponsored athletics, or another LEA-sponsored extracurricular
activity, or in any other place on the campus of a school or school facility after the end of the
2020-2021 school year.
Section 3. 
Effective date.
If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this bill takes effect
upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
Constitution, Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto,
the date of veto override.
Section 4. 
Revisor instructions.
The Legislature intends that the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, in
preparing the Utah Code database for publication, replace the reference in Section
26-6-42
 from "the effective date of this bill" to the bill's actual effective date.