Legislative Bills

SB0102S03 | Wireless Communication Device Use in a Motor Vehicle

Description

General Description:

This bill amends provisions related to the use of a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle.

Highlighted Provisions:

This bill amends provisions related to the use of a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle.

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0102S03

Year:

2022

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Mar 24, 2022

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Support

Impact on Children:

The changes would increase the ability to enforce the law by not allowing using a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle and thereby making Utah roads safer for all.

Commission:

Safety

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

Utah PTA Legislative Policy:

To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship.
To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth.

National PTA and Utah PTA Position Statements:

National PTA Resolution on Distracted Driving Resolved, That PTA and its constituent associations support the adoption and enforcement of laws that restrict the manipulation of handheld and portable communication devices while driving;

SB0103S04 | Victim Targeting Penalty Enhancements

Description

General Description:

This bill enacts provisions relating to sentencing for a criminal offense committed against a victim who is selected because of certain personal attributes.

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0103S04

Year:

2019

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Apr 02, 2019

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Pending

Commission:

Community Engagement

Safety

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions:

Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, age, physical and academic ability, and sexual orientation;

Links

National PTA Position Statement - Citizenship and Equality

SB0103S02 | Student Graduation Attire Modifications

Description

General Description:

This bill allows individuals to wear cultural attire during graduation ceremonies.

Highlighted Provisions:

Students may wear recognized cultural & religious attire during graduation.
HB 149 & SB 103 include rules on how an LEA can determine if something is "recognized."
SB 103 also includes a line referencing that it includes not limiting the right for students to wear tribal regalia, which is what was included in HB 30 in 2022.

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0103S02

Year:

2023

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Mar 17, 2023

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Support

Utah PTA Resolution:

FAM 2022-2 | Support for Newcomer and Refugee Students and Families

Impact on Children:

Allows graduating students to honor their family and culture during high school graduation.

Commission:

Student Leadership

SB0103 | Special Education Licensing Amendments

Description

General Description:

This bill makes changes to licensing requirements for directors of special education at charter schools.

Highlighted Provisions:

This bill makes changes to licensing requirements for directors of special education at charter schools. This bill requires a director of special education at a charter school to hold an appropriate license issued by the State Board of Education.

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0103

Year:

2022

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Mar 23, 2022

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Support

Utah PTA Resolution:

EDU 2005-1 | Education of Students with Disabilities (retired)

Impact on Children:

Charter school students who receive special education services and their families will greatly benefit by having a Special Education director who is appropriately trained and licensed in this field.

Commission:

Education

Special Needs Specialist

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions:

Resolved, that Utah PTA and its organizations support education policies and legislation that will improve advocacy and parental education within the public school system to benefit children with special needs.

Utah PTA Legislative Policy:

General Principles for Consideration of Proposed Legislation:
High standards for those who work in all areas concerned with children and youth.

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities:

Support expedited state special education funding to support and implement IEPs for public school students with disabilities.

National PTA and Utah PTA Position Statements:

PTA believes that all children have the right to a quality public education, which allows each child the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.

National PTA Public Policy Agenda

PTA firmly believes that all students—including students from historically marginalized populations—have the right to a quality, equitable education in a safe, supportive and inclusive school.

SB0104S04 | Children's Device Protection Act

Description

General Description:

This bill enacts the Children's Device Protection Act.

Highlighted Provisions:

▸ Requires a tablet or a smartphone (a device) manufactured on or after January 1, 2025, to automatically enable a filter upon device activation by a minor;

▸ Requires the filter enabled for minors at activation to: prevent a minor user of the device from accessing material that is obscene; and

▸ Allows adult users and parents or legal guardians to deactivate and re-activate the filter with a password;

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0104S04

Year:

2024

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Mar 13, 2024

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Support

Utah PTA Resolution:

SAF 2023-2 | Digital Citizenship and Wellness

Impact on Children:

Social media has many negative aspects of it pertains to children and their use of it. We need to have parents be more involved and accountable for what their children are participating in on these platforms. Filters and their use are a part of this accountabilty. We need to support digital safety measures for our children and protect them from harmful content on social media platforms.

Commission:

Safety

Internet Safety

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions:

Utah PTA and its constituent associations help educate parents on the importance of monitoring their youth and teens’ digital behavior and activity online and help parents find appropriate resources such as, but not limited to, training on digital wellness, existing phone manufacturer filters, other filters and other technological tools to help limit exposure to potentially harmful content.

SB0106S01 | Mental Health Services in Schools

Description

General Description:

This bill enacts provisions relating to coverage of certain mental health services by the Medicaid program and certain health insurers.

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0106S01

Year:

2019

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Mar 22, 2019

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Pending

Utah PTA Resolution:

HEA 2000-1 | Mental Illness (retired)

Impact on Children:

To allow these services to be billed to Medicaid will help our children receive services at school that may not be received due to parents work schedule, school schedule, etc...

Commission:

Health

Education

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions:

Resolved, That Utah PTA support prevention and intervention initiatives and appropriate state funding for:
(1) collaborative efforts between the home, school, private physicians, and community
resource agencies to create support networks for families,
(2) developing uniform methods for screening and referral,
(3) increasing the number of school psychologists and social workers, and
(4) improving training of primary care physicians in mental illness assessment and
treatment;

SB0107 | Income Tax Rate Reduction Amendments

Description

General Description:

This bill modifies provisions related to income tax.

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0107

Year:

2020

Status:

Senate/ filed

Last Action:

Mar 12, 2020

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Oppose

This legislation would provide automatic cuts in the income tax rate if the percentage is higher than the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Utah PTA Resolution:

EDU 2010-2 | Education Funding (retired)

Impact on Children:

1. Places a cap on an increase in income tax based on the state;s gross domestic product which limits revenue that would be allocated for the education of our children.

Commission:

Education

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions:

Utah PTA Resolution EDU 2010-2 - Resolved that Utah PTA continue to urge the legislature to make public education revenue allocations and funding effort a high priority. Resolved that Utah PTA encourage the legislature to adequately fund critical educational needs, including but not limited to, class size reduction, teacher salaries, technology, textbooks and supplies.

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities:

Utah PTA Legislative Priority #2. Support education appropriations which fully fund enrollment growth and increase the WPU by 6%.

Links

EDU 2010-2 Education Funding

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities 2019-20

SB0107S07 | In-person Instruction Prioritization

Description

General Description:

This bill requires the Department of Health to support widespread testing of a school's students for COVID-19 under certain conditions to facilitate a requirement for in-person instruction.

Highlighted Provisions:

This bill requires the Department of Health to provide support to a local education agency
14 (LEA) that initiates widespread COVID-19 testing for a school (test to stay
15 program);
16 ▸ requires that guidance that the Department of Health provides to LEAs related to
17 test to stay programs complies with certain statutory provisions;
18 ▸ establishes the case threshold in a school above which the LEA initiates a "test to
19 stay program" for the school;

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0107S07

Year:

2021

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Mar 24, 2021

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Oppose

Comment: Utah PTA believes decisions regarding delivery of instruction are best made at the local level and is concerned by the legislative overreach in this bill.

Impact on Children:

This bill encourages in person learning by raising the threshold for schools to transition to virtual to 30 covid cases or 2%. It promotes the use of the test to stay program for those school that reach the threshold thus providing for more students to be able to receive in person instruction.

Commission:

Education

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions:

PS STU 2021 Coronavirus Pandemic Impact on Student Learning.pdf
Resolved, that Utah PTA, parents, policy leaders and educators must communicate clearly and honestly about the challenges they are facing, and share the steps they are taking to support educators, students and families.

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities:

Support accountability for all public schools that take into account the needs of students, teachers, and communities including the suspension or elimination of rating schools with a single letter grade and the establishment of a new baseline for future accountability measures.

SB0112 | Public Education Information Systems Uniformity Act

Description

General Description:

This bill requires the State Board of Education to have a system for collecting and reporting public education data.

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0112

Year:

2019

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Mar 21, 2019

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

$17,200,000

This bill appropriates in fiscal year 2020: to the State Board of Education - State Administrative Office, as a one-time appropriation: from the Education Fund, One-time, $17,200,000.

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Pending

Utah PTA Resolution:

EDU 2010-2 | Education Funding (retired)

Impact on Children:

The Utah Schools Information Management System will consolidate multiple State Education data systems to improve exchanges of information between public education agencies and increase system security/data protection/privacy control. Lack of funding will lead to continued inadequacies in systems integration, increased costs, and elevated data security and privacy risks.

Commission:

Education

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions:

Resolved, That Utah PTA encourage the legislature to adequately fund critical educational needs, including but not limited to, class size reduction, teacher salaries, technology, textbooks and supplies.

SB0113S01 | Arts Program Funding Amendments

Description

General Description:

This bill provides for an annual budgetary review for the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Elementary Arts Learning Program in certain circumstances.

Bill Details

Bill Number:

SB0113S01

Year:

2020

Status:

Governor Signed

Last Action:

Mar 28, 2020

Fiscal Note

Fiscal Note Amount:

None

View Fiscal Note

Utah PTA Response

Utah PTA Position

Support

Utah PTA Resolution:

IND 2014-1 | Arts Education

Impact on Children:

Arts education plays an important role in developing students’ skills in critical thinking, creativity, imagination and innovation. Students involved in the arts have a higher level of academic success. At-risk students who are engaged in the arts have better academic achievement, job opportunities and are more engaged civically than those who do not and access to the arts plays a central role in cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional development. An annual review of the Beverly Sorenson program may provide greater funding for arts programs if necessary.

Commission:

Individual Development

Utah PTA Public Policy Program

National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions:

Resolved, That Utah PTA advocate for appropriate funding for education that includes the arts as part of a child’s educational experience.

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities:

5. Support additional funding to help with the overwhelming mental health crisis including, but not limited to: programs and classes including art, music, civic, character, and physical education; more school psychologists, counselors, nurses, and social workers; and professional development.

National PTA and Utah PTA Position Statements:

Arts in Education Position Statement

National PTA believes that the arts, music, literature, dance, drama, and visual arts are central to learning. Infusion of the arts in elementary, secondary, and continuing education curricula is key to the development of students.

National PTA supports:

Programs that promote public awareness of the arts and arts education.
The integration of the arts in school curriculum.

Links

Position Statement - Arts in Education

Legislative Bills

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