Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 92 First Substitute (2024GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Pitcher, S.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/20/2024

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• requires local school boards to develop polices and procedures to ensure that students have non-electronic notification of and access to certain activities and events; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

This document includes Senate Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Fri, Jan 26, 2024 at 2:19 PM by lpoole.
This document includes Senate 2nd Reading Floor Amendments incorporated into the bill on Tue, Feb 6, 2024 at 6:28 PM by lpoole.
This document includes House Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Wed, Feb 14, 2024 at 10:17 AM by housengrossing.
STUDENT COMMUNICATION METHODS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Stephanie Pitcher
House Sponsor: 
 Jordan D. Teuscher
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill requires local school boards to develop policies and procedures for students to
have non-electronic notification of and access to certain activities and events.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ requires local school boards to develop polices and procedures to ensure that
students have non-electronic notification of and access to certain activities and
events; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53G-4-402
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapters 16, 252, 343, 352, and
435
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
53G-4-402
 is amended to read:
53G-4-402.
Powers and duties generally.
(1) A local school board shall:
(a) implement the core standards for Utah public schools using instructional materials
that best correlate to the core standards for Utah public schools and graduation requirements;
(b) administer tests, required by the state board, which measure the progress of each
student, and coordinate with the state superintendent and state board to assess results and create
plans to improve the student's progress, which shall be submitted to the state board for
approval;
(c) use progress-based assessments as part of a plan to identify schools, teachers, and
students that need remediation and determine the type and amount of federal, state, and local
resources to implement remediation;
(d) for each grading period and for each course in which a student is enrolled, issue a
grade or performance report to the student:
(i) that reflects the student's work, including the student's progress based on mastery,
for the grading period; and
(ii) in accordance with the local school board's adopted grading or performance
standards and criteria;
(e) develop early warning systems for students or classes failing to make progress;
(f) work with the state board to establish a library of documented best practices,
consistent with state and federal regulations, for use by the special districts;
(g) implement training programs for school administrators, including basic
management training, best practices in instructional methods, budget training, staff
management, managing for learning results and continuous improvement, and how to help
every [
child
] 
student
 achieve optimal learning in basic academic subjects; and
(h) ensure that the local school board meets the data collection and reporting standards
described in Section 
53E-3-501
.
(2) Local school boards shall spend Minimum School Program funds for programs and
activities for which the state board has established minimum standards or rules under Section
53E-3-501
.
(3) (a) A local school board may purchase, sell, and make improvements on school
sites, buildings, and equipment, and construct, erect, and furnish school buildings.
(b) School sites or buildings may only be conveyed or sold on local school board
resolution affirmed by at least two-thirds of the school board members.
(4) (a) A local school board may participate in the joint construction or operation of a
school attended by students residing within the district and students residing in other districts
either within or outside the state.
(b) Any agreement for the joint operation or construction of a school shall:
(i) be signed by the president of the local school board of each participating district;
(ii) include a mutually agreed upon pro rata cost; and
(iii) be filed with the state board.
(5) A local school board may establish, locate, and maintain elementary, secondary,
and applied technology schools.
(6) A local school board may enter into cooperative agreements with other local school
boards to provide educational services that best utilize resources for the overall operation of the
school districts, including shared transportation services.
(7) [
An
] 
Local school boards shall ensure that an
 agreement under Subsection (6)
[
shall
]:
(a) [
be
] 
is
 signed by the president of the local school board of each participating
district;
(b) [
specify
] 
specifies
 the resource being shared;
(c) [
include
] 
includes
 a mutually agreed upon pro rata cost;
(d) [
include
] 
includes
 the duration of the agreement; and
(e) [
be
] 
is
 filed with the state board.
(8) Except as provided in Section 
53E-3-905
, a local school board may enroll children
in school who are at least five years old before September 2 of the year in which admission is
sought.
(9) A local school board:
(a) may establish and support school libraries; and
(b) shall provide an online platform:
(i) through which a parent is able to view the title, author, and a description of any
material the parent's child borrows from the school library, including a history of borrowed
materials, either using an existing online platform that the LEA uses or through a separate
platform; and
(ii) (A) for a school district with 1,000 or more enrolled students, no later than August
1, 2024; and
(B) for a school district with fewer than 1,000 enrolled students, no later than August
1, 2026.
(10) A local school board may collect damages for the loss, injury, or destruction of
school property.
(11) A local school board may authorize guidance and counseling services for students
and the student's parents before, during, or following school enrollment.
(12) (a) A local school board shall administer and implement federal educational
programs in accordance with Title 53E, Chapter 3, Part 8, Implementing Federal or National
Education Programs.
(b) Federal funds are not considered funds within the school district budget under
Chapter 7, Part 3, Budgets.
(13) (a) A local school board may organize school safety patrols and adopt policies
under which the patrols promote student safety.
(b) A student appointed to a safety patrol shall be at least 10 years old and have written
parental consent for the appointment.
(c) Safety patrol members may not direct vehicular traffic or be stationed in a portion
of a highway intended for vehicular traffic use.
(d) Liability may not attach to a school district, its employees, officers, or agents, or to
a safety patrol member, a parent of a safety patrol member, or an authorized volunteer assisting
the program by virtue of the organization, maintenance, or operation of a school safety patrol.
(14) (a) A local school board may on its own behalf, or on behalf of an educational
institution for which the local school board is the direct governing body, accept private grants,
loans, gifts, endowments, devises, or bequests that are made for educational purposes.
(b) The contributions made under Subsection (14)(a) are not subject to appropriation
by the Legislature.
(15) (a) A local school board may appoint and fix the compensation of a compliance
officer to issue citations for violations of Subsection 
76-10-105
(2)(b).
(b) A person may not be appointed to serve as a compliance officer without the
person's consent.
(c) A teacher or student may not be appointed as a compliance officer.
(16) A local school board shall adopt bylaws and policies for the local school board's
own procedures.
(17) (a) A local school board shall make and enforce policies necessary for the control
and management of the district schools.
(b) Local school board policies shall be in writing, filed, and referenced for public
access.
(18) A local school board may hold school on legal holidays other than Sundays.
(19) (a) A local school board shall establish for each school year a school traffic safety
committee to implement this Subsection (19).
(b) The committee shall be composed of one representative of:
(i) the schools within the district;
(ii) the Parent Teachers' Association of the schools within the district;
(iii) the municipality or county;
(iv) state or local law enforcement; and
(v) state or local traffic safety engineering.
(c) The committee shall:
(i) receive suggestions from school community councils, parents, teachers, and others,
and recommend school traffic safety improvements, boundary changes to enhance safety, and
school traffic safety program measures;
(ii) review and submit annually to the Department of Transportation and affected
municipalities and counties a child access routing plan for each elementary, middle, and junior
high school within the district;
(iii) [
consult
] 
in consultation with
 the Utah Safety Council and the Division of Family
Health Services
,
 [
and
] provide training to all students in kindergarten through grade 6, within
the district, on school crossing safety and use; and
(iv) help ensure the district's compliance with rules made by the Department of
Transportation under Section 
41-6a-303
.
(d) The committee may establish subcommittees as needed to assist in accomplishing
the committee's duties under Subsection (19)(c).
(20) (a) A local school board shall adopt and implement a comprehensive emergency
response plan to prevent and combat violence in the local school board's public schools, on
school grounds, on its school vehicles, and in connection with school-related activities or
events.
(b) The 
local school board shall ensure that the
 plan [
shall
]:
(i) [
include
] 
includes
 prevention, intervention, and response components;
(ii) [
be
] 
is
 consistent with the [
student conduct and discipline
] 
school discipline and
conduct
 policies required for school districts under [
Chapter 11, Part 2, Miscellaneous
Requirements
] 
Chapter 8, Part 2, School Discipline and Conduct Plans
;
(iii) [
require
] 
requires
 professional learning for all district and school building staff on
the staff's roles in the emergency response plan;
(iv) [
provide
] 
provides
 for coordination with local law enforcement and other public
safety representatives in preventing, intervening, and responding to violence in the areas and
activities referred to in Subsection (20)(a); and
(v) [
include
] 
includes
 procedures to notify a student who is off campus at the time of a
school violence emergency because the student is:
(A) participating in a school-related activity; or
(B) excused from school for a period of time during the regular school day to
participate in religious instruction at the request of the student's parent.
(c) The state board, through the state superintendent, shall develop comprehensive
emergency response plan models that local school boards may use, where appropriate, to
comply with Subsection (20)(a).
(d) A local school board shall, by July 1 of each year, certify to the state board that its
plan has been practiced at the school level and presented to and reviewed by its teachers,
administrators, students, and the student's parents and local law enforcement and public safety
representatives.
(21) (a) A local school board may adopt an emergency response plan for the treatment
of sports-related injuries that occur during school sports practices and events.
(b) The plan may be implemented by each secondary school in the district that has a
sports program for students.
(c) The plan may:
(i) include emergency personnel, emergency communication, and emergency
equipment components;
(ii) require professional learning on the emergency response plan for school personnel
who are involved in sports programs in the district's secondary schools; and
(iii) provide for coordination with individuals and agency representatives who:
(A) are not employees of the school district; and
(B) would be involved in providing emergency services to students injured while
participating in sports events.
(d) The local school board, in collaboration with the schools referred to in Subsection
(21)(b), may review the plan each year and make revisions when required to improve or
enhance the plan.
(e) The state board, through the state superintendent, shall provide local school boards
with an emergency plan response model that local school boards may use to comply with the
requirements of this Subsection (21).
(22)
Ŝ→ 
(a)
 ←Ŝ
A local school board shall
Ŝ→ [
develop polices
] 
 approve an LEA's
197a 
policies
 ←Ŝ
and procedures
Ŝ→ 
that an LEA develops
 ←Ŝ
to ensure that students
have non-electronic notification of and access to:
Ŝ→ [
(a)
] 
 (i)
 ←Ŝ
school activities and events, including:
Ĥ→ [
Ŝ→ [
(i)
] 
 (A)
 ←Ŝ 
course work;
Ŝ→ [
(ii)
] 
 (B)
 ←Ŝ
] 
 (A)
 ←Ĥ
schedule changes; and
Ĥ→ [
Ŝ→ [
(iii)
] 
 (C)
 ←Ŝ
] 
 (B)
 ←Ĥ
extracurricular activities; and
Ŝ→ [
(b)
] 
 (ii)
 ←Ŝ
the emergency response plans described in Subsections (20) and (21).
203a 
Ŝ→ 
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (22)(a), an LEA may provide electronic notification of and
203b 
access to school activities and events as described in Subsections (22)(a)(i) and (ii) if:
203c 
(i)
Ŝ→ 
(A)
 ←Ŝ
the school provides each student with an electronic device; and
203d 
Ŝ→ [
(ii)
] 
(B)
 ←Ŝ
the electronic device is capable of receiving electronic notification of and
203d1 
access to school
203e 
activities and events as described in Subsections (22)(a)(i) and (ii)
Ŝ→ [
.
] 
;
 ←Ŝ
←Ŝ
Ŝ→ 
or
203f 
(ii) an emergency, unforeseen circumstance, or other incident arises and an LEA cannot
203g 
reasonably provide timely non-electronic notification.
 ←Ŝ
[
(22)
] 
(23)
 A local school board shall do all other things necessary for the maintenance,
prosperity, and success of the schools and the promotion of education.
[
(23)
] 
(24)
 (a) Before closing a school or changing the boundaries of a school, a local
school board shall:
(i) [
at least
] 
on or before
days before [
approving
] 
the day on which the local school
board approves
 the school closure or school boundary change, provide notice that the local
school board is considering the closure or boundary change to:
(A) parents of students enrolled in the school, using the same form of communication
the local school board regularly uses to communicate with parents;
(B) parents of students enrolled in other schools within the school district that may be
affected by the closure or boundary change, using the same form of communication the local
school board regularly uses to communicate with parents; and
(C) the governing council and the mayor of the municipality in which the school is
located;
(ii) provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposed school closure or
school boundary change during at least two public local school board meetings; and
(iii) hold a public hearing as defined in Section 
10-9a-103
 and provide public notice of
the public hearing [
as described in
] 
in accordance with
 Subsection [
(23)(b)
] 
(24)(b)
.
(b) 
A local school board shall:
(i)
 [
The
] 
ensure that the
 notice of a public hearing required under Subsection
[
(23)(a)(iii) shall:
] 
(24)(a)(iii)
[
(i) indicate
] 
indicates
 the:
(A) school or schools under consideration for closure or boundary change; and
(B) the date, time, and location of the public hearing;
(ii) for at least 10 days before the day [
of
] 
on which
 the public hearing[
, be published
]
occurs, publish the
Ĥ→ [
noticed
] 
 notice
 ←Ĥ
of public hearing
 for the school district in which the
229a school is
located, as a class A notice under Section 
63G-30-102
; and
Ŝ→ [
[(iii)] 
(A)
] 
(iii)
 ←Ŝ
at least 30 days before the 
day on which the
 public hearing
231a [
described in
Subsection (23)(a)(iii), be provided as described in Subsections (23)(a)(i)
] 
occurs, provide
notice of the public hearing in the same manner as the notice of consideration under Subsection
(24)(a)(i)
.
[
(24)
] 
(25)
 A local school board may implement a facility energy efficiency program
established under Title 11, Chapter 44, Performance Efficiency Act.
[
(25)
] 
(26)
 A local school board may establish or partner with a certified youth court in
accordance with Section 
80-6-902
 or establish or partner with a comparable restorative justice
program, in coordination with schools in that district. A school may refer a student to a youth
court or a comparable restorative justice program in accordance with Section 
53G-8-211
.
[
(26)
] 
(27)
 (a) As used in this Subsection [
(26)
] 
(27)
:
(i) "Learning material" means any learning material or resource used to deliver or
support a student's learning, including textbooks, reading materials, videos, digital materials,
websites, and other online applications.
(ii) (A) "Instructional material" means learning material that a local school board
adopts and approves for use within the LEA.
(B) "Instructional material" does not include learning material used in a concurrent
enrollment, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate program or class or another
class with required instructional material that is not subject to selection by the local school
board.
(iii) "Supplemental material" means learning material that:
(A) an educator selects for classroom use; and
(B) a local school board has not considered and adopted, approved, or prohibited for
classroom use within the LEA.
(b) A local school board shall:
(i) make instructional material that the school district uses readily accessible and
available for a parent to view;
(ii) annually notify a parent of a student enrolled in the school district of how to access
the information described in Subsection [
(26)(b)(i)
] 
(27)(b)(i)
; and
(iii) include on the school district's website information about how to access the
information described in Subsection [
(26)(b)(i)
] 
(27)(b)(i)
.
(c) In selecting and approving instructional materials for use in the classroom, a local
school board shall:
(i) establish an open process, involving educators and parents of students enrolled in
the LEA, to review and recommend instructional materials for board approval; and
(ii) ensure that under the process described in Subsection [
(26)(c)(i)
] 
(27)(c)(i)
, the
board:
(A) before the meetings described in Subsection [
(26)(c)(ii)(B)
] 
(27)(c)(ii)(B)
, posts
the recommended learning material online to allow for public review or, for copyrighted
material, makes the recommended learning material available at the LEA for public review;
(B) before adopting or approving the recommended instructional materials, holds at
least two public meetings on the recommendation that provides an opportunity for educators
whom the LEA employs and parents of students enrolled in the LEA to express views and
opinions on the recommendation; and
(C) adopts or approves the recommended instructional materials in an open and regular
board meeting.
(d) A local school board shall adopt a supplemental materials policy that provides
flexible guidance to educators on the selection of supplemental materials or resources that an
educator reviews and selects for classroom use using the educator's professional judgment,
including whether any process or permission is required before classroom use of the materials
or resources.
(e) If an LEA contracts with another party to provide online or digital materials, the
LEA shall include in the contract a requirement that the provider give notice to the LEA any
time that the provider makes a material change to the content of the online or digital materials,
excluding regular informational updates on current events.
(f) Nothing in this Subsection [
(26)
] 
(27)
 requires a local school board to review all
learning materials used within the LEA.
Section 2. 
Effective date.
This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.