Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 250 (2025GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Peck, Nicholeen P.

Final action

House/ filed 3/7/2025

Outcome

Failed / filed without passage

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• prohibits the State Board of Education, a local education agency, or a public employer from taking disciplinary action against an employee for using gender-specific language in certain circumstances;
• requires a public employer that has a rule or policy requiring an employee to use gender-specific language to accommodate another individual to exempt the employee from disciplinary action in certain circumstances; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

6
53G-10-206
67-21-3.3
Public Employee Gender-specific Language Requirements
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Nicholeen P. Peck
Senate Sponsor: Daniel McCay
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill prohibits certain employment action against a public employee.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
 prohibits the State Board of Education, a local education agency, or a public employer 
from taking disciplinary action against an employee for using gender-specific language 
in certain circumstances;
requires a public employer that has a rule or policy requiring an employee to use 
gender-specific language to accommodate another individual to exempt the employee 
from disciplinary action in certain circumstances; and
makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53G-10-206
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 507
ENACTS:
67-21-3.3
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1, Section 
53G-10-206
 is amended to read:
53G-10-206. Educational freedom.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
(i)
"Administrative personnel" means any LEA or state board staff personnel who 
have system-wide, LEA-wide, or school-wide functions and who perform 
management activities, including:
(A)
developing broad policies for LEA or state-level boards; and
(B)
executing developed policies through the direction of personnel at any level 
within the state or LEA.
(ii)
"Administrative personnel" includes state, LEA, or school superintendents, 
assistant superintendents, deputy superintendents, school principals, assistant 
principals, directors, executive directors, network directors, cabinet members, 
subject area directors, grant coordinators, specialty directors, career center 
directors, educational specialists, technology personnel, technology 
administrators, and others who perform management activities.
(b)
(i)
"Instructional personnel" means an individual whose function includes the 
provision of:
(A)
direct or indirect instructional services to students;
(B)
direct or indirect support in the learning process of students; or
(C)
direct or indirect delivery of instruction, training, coaching, evaluation, or 
professional development to instructional or administrative personnel.
(ii)
"Instructional personnel" includes:
(A)
the state board, LEAs, schools, superintendents, boards, administrators, 
administrative staff, teachers, classroom teachers, facilitators, coaches, 
proctors, therapists, counselors, student personnel services, librarians, media 
specialists, associations, affiliations, committees, contractors, vendors, 
consultants, advisors, outside entities, community volunteers, 
para-professionals, public-private partners, trainers, mentors, specialists, and 
staff; or
(B)
any other employees, officials, government agencies, educational entities, 
persons, or groups for whom access to students is facilitated through, or not 
feasible without, the public education system.
(2)
(a)
Each LEA shall provide an annual assurance to the state board that the LEA's 
professional learning, administrative functions, displays, and instructional and 
curricular materials, are consistent with the following principles of individual 
freedom:
(i)
the principle that all individuals are equal before the law and have unalienable 
rights; and
(ii)
the following principles of individual freedom:
(A)
that no individual is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether 
consciously or unconsciously, solely by virtue of the individual's race, sex, or 
sexual orientation;
(B)
that no race is inherently superior or inferior to another race;
(C)
that no person should be subject to discrimination or adverse treatment solely 
or partly on the basis of the individual's race, color, national origin, religion, 
disability, sex, or sexual orientation;
(D)
that meritocracy or character traits, including hard work ethic, are not racist 
nor associated with or inconsistent with any racial or ethnic group; and
(E)
that an individual, by virtue of the individual's race or sex, does not bear 
responsibility for actions that other members of the same race or sex 
committed in the past or present.
(b)
Nothing in this section prohibits instruction regarding race, color, national origin, 
religion, disability, or sex in a manner that is consistent with the principles described 
in Subsection (2)(a).
(3)
The state board or an LEA may not:
(a)
attempt to persuade a student or instructional or administrative personnel to a point 
of view that is inconsistent with the principles described in Subsection (2)(a); 
or
(b)
implement policies or programs, or allow instructional personnel or administrative 
personnel to implement policies or programs, with content that is inconsistent with 
the principles described in Subsection (2)(a)
.
; or
(c)
pursue disciplinary action against an individual who is instructional personnel or 
administrative personnel solely because the individual, in relation to a student, 
referred to the student by:
(i)
in good faith, the student's birth name, biological gender, or a pronoun or other 
gender-specific language related to the student's biological gender; or
(ii)
the name, pronoun, or gender-specific language the student's parent prefers.
(4)
The state board and state superintendent may not develop or continue to use core 
standards under Section 
53E-3-301
 or professional learning that are inconsistent with the 
principles described in Subsection (2)(a).
Section 2, Section 
67-21-3.3
 is enacted to read:
67-21-3.3. Gender-specific language preference -- Employer action.
(1)
An employer may not pursue disciplinary action against an employee solely because the 
employee:
(a)
in good faith, uses a pronoun or other gender-specific language in relation to another 
individual that conflicts with the individual's personal gender-specific language 
preference; or
(b)
because of the employee's sincerely held religious or moral belief, uses a pronoun or 
other gender-specific language in relation to another individual that conflicts with the 
individual's personal gender-specific language preference.
(2)
If an employer implements a rule or policy that requires an employee to use 
gender-specific language to accommodate another individual's personal gender-specific 
language preference, the employer shall:
(a)
ensure that the rule or policy exempts from disciplinary action an employee 
described in Subsection 
(1)
; and
(b)
notify employees in writing of the exemptions described in this section.
Section 3. 
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on 
July 1, 2025
.
1-16-25 3:03 PM