Legislative Bills

Primary tabs

HB0138S06 | Sensitive Material Requirements

Description
General Description: 

This bill amends requirements and prohibitions regarding sensitive material within the public school system.

Highlighted Provisions: 

Requires provisions in a contract between the State Board of Education (state board)
or a local education agency (LEA) and a vendor in a contract for digital instructional
material that:
• requires notice of changes to the digital instructional material; and
• allows the relevant state board or LEA to reject the changes or terminate the
contract in certain circumstances; and

Bill Details
Year: 
2023
Status: 
House/ filed
Last Action: 
Mar 03, 2023
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 20
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Utah PTA Resolution: 
Impact on Children: 

This bill is important so that school boards or LEAs are aware of the digital material being used in schools, even when that information is being continually updated. It puts the LEA on notice of updates and allows them time to review the updates before they are used in the schools with the students.

Commission: 
Internet Safety
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations work to set high expectations in digital and interactive media, for the distribution, motivation, and skilled use of technology in caring for and protecting children and youth in Utah; and be it further Resolved, That Utah PTA and constituent associations urge its members at all levels to advocate for federaland local laws, regulations and programs that prohibit digital content that is considered illegal or harmful to children;

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities: 

4. SAFETY. Support funding to strengthen school safety measures including upgrading school buildings to be safe and secure, safety training and educating families and communities on school safety policies, children’s online safety, and evaluating digital threats to schools in Utah.

HB0139S01 | Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry Requirements

Description
General Description: 

This bill amends sex and kidnap offender registry requirements.

Highlighted Provisions: 

▸ amends sex and kidnap offender registry requirements for an offender who commits
certain offenses in another state;

Bill Details
Year: 
2023
Status: 
Governor Signed
Last Action: 
Mar 14, 2023
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 61
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

Children should be safe in their community and should be protected from dangerous individuals;

Commission: 
Safety
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations promote and support the adoption and enforcement of laws, at all levels of government, to end the recruitment, force or involvement of a minor in conduct or violence of a sexually nature and all forms of sexual exploitation;

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.

HB0140 | Standard Response Protocol to Active Threats in Schools

Description
General Description: 

This bill codifies and expands on existing administrative rules related to required emergency drills in public schools.

Highlighted Provisions: 

codifies portions of existing administrative rules made by the State Board of
Education (state board) regarding required emergency preparedness plans,
▸ requires monthly and developmentally appropriate training or drills regarding an
active threat within the school;

Bill Details
Year: 
2023
Status: 
Governor Signed
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 3
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Utah PTA Resolution: 
Impact on Children: 

One of the purposes of Utah PTA is to promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship. This bill would promote the safety of children at school so students and all school personnel will know what to do in any emergency.
 

Commission: 
Safety
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

Resolved, that Utah PTA and its constituent associations encourage all efforts to address school safety to involve all stakeholders, especially students, parents, and families, and consider a variety of factors including the physical and psychological safety of students;

Utah PTA Legislative Policy: 

To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship.
To develop, between educators and the general public, such united efforts as will secure, for all children and youth, the highest advantages in physical, social, and spiritual education.
 

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities: 

SAFETY. Support funding to strengthen school safety measures including upgrading school buildings to be safe and secure, safety training and educating families and communities on school safety policies, children’s online safety, and evaluating digital threats to schools in Utah.

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.

HB0143 | DUI Penalty Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill modifies the penalty for driving under the influence.

Highlighted Provisions: 

Increases the penalty for a second driving under the influence conviction to a class A misdemeanor under certain circumstances

Bill Details
Year: 
2022
Status: 
Governor Signed
Last Action: 
Mar 22, 2022
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 68
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

With a stronger penalty on multiple DUI offenses, that will hopefully be more of a deterrent, and lead to less DUI occurrences, and less DUI accidents and deaths.

Commission: 
Student Leadership
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

PTA continue to work to encourage more stringent laws and penalties concerning
driving under the influence of alcohol

Utah PTA Legislative Policy: 

To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community

HB0146 | Human Trafficking Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill addresses human trafficking education and prevention.

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill addresses human trafficking education and prevention by directing the Office of the Attorney General to hire a state human trafficking intervention coordinator. 

Bill Details
Year: 
2024
Status: 
House/ filed
Last Action: 
Mar 01, 2024
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 50
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

Empowering individuals through education serves as a potent tool in the fight against human trafficking. This bill aims to sustain and propel the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking.

Commission: 
Safety
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations promote and support the adoption and enforcement of laws, at all levels of government, to end the recruitment, force or involvement of a minor in conduct or violence of a sexually nature and all forms of sexual exploitation;

Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations encourage and call for members, policy makers, schools and community organizations to actively raise awareness and to address those conditions and situations that contribute to the sexual exploitation of a minor.

Resolved, That National PTA and its constituent organizations encourage and call for members, policy makers in government, inter-governmental bodies and non-governmental, school and community organizations to raise awareness and to address those conditions and situations that contribute to child trafficking.
 

Utah PTA Legislative Policy: 

To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth.

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities: 

Promote the inclusion of safety education in the curriculum at all levels of public schools and incorporate an age appropriate violence prevention component into existing courses of study.

National PTA Public Policy Agenda

Promote the inclusion of safety education in the curriculum at all levels of public schools and incorporate an ageappropriate violence prevention component into existing courses of study.

HB0146 | Concurrent Enrollment Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill amends requirements for a student to be eligible to participate in concurrent enrollment.

Bill Details
Year: 
2019
Status: 
Governor Signed
Last Action: 
Mar 22, 2019
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 50
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Pending
Impact on Children: 

Current law allows only students in grades 11 and 12 to participate in Concurrent Enrollment Courses. This Bill will expand those opportunities to students in grades 9 and 10, leading to better college and career readiness.

Commission: 
Education
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

Resolved, That Utah PTA encourage rigor in student academic pursuits, but also value each student's diverse needs and post high school plans by encouraging statewide practices and requirements that achieve balance and flexibility in student curriculum; and be it further

Resolved, That Utah PTA support school rigor in a wide variety of subjects and oppose efforts that too narrowly define academic rigor solely as language arts, math, and science; and be it further

Resolved, That Utah PTA ask the State Board of Education to encourage the implementation of flexible four-year plans as part of the SEOP process for grades 9-12 to help students explore and better focus their high school courses toward post high school plans.

HB0148 | Artificial Pornographic Images Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill amends provisions in Title 76, Chapter 5b, Sexual Exploitation Act.

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill clarifies that certain prohibited materials in Title 76, Chapter 5b, Sexual Exploitation Act, includes computer-generated videos.

Bill Details
Year: 
2024
Status: 
Governor Signed
Last Action: 
Mar 13, 2024
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 15
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

This bill aims to protect individuals, including minors, from the unauthorized sharing of intimate images, including computer-generated videos.

Commission: 
Safety
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations promote and support the adoption and enforcement of laws, at all levels of government, to end the recruitment, force or involvement of a minor in conduct or violence of a sexual nature and all forms of sexual exploitation;

 

Resolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations encourage and call for members, policy makers, schools and community organizations to actively raise awareness and to address those conditions and situations that contribute to the sexual exploitation of a minor.

Utah PTA Legislative Policy: 

To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth.

National PTA and Utah PTA Position Statements: 

Address threats to the safety and well-being of children that can happen online, such as cyberbullying, exploitation, criminal activity and violence.

HB0148S01 | Alcohol Education Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill creates the Drinking While Pregnant Prevention Media and Education Campaign Restricted Account and provides for the use and oversight of account funds.

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill:
        ▸     amends provisions regarding what the Drinking While Pregnant Prevention Media and Education Campaign Restricted Account consists of;
        ▸     requires deposits into the Drinking While Pregnant Prevention Media and Education Campaign Restricted Account of a percentage of the total gross revenue from the sale of liquor;

Bill Details
Year: 
2021
Status: 
House/ filed
Last Action: 
Mar 05, 2021
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 51
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

Passage of this bill will take a percentage of the sales of liquor (0.2%-0.4%) to be used to help educate concerning the dangers to the fetus of women alcohol who consume alcohol while they are pregnant.

Commission: 
Health
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

That Utah PTA work to ensure that there are questions asked in prenatal health care about use of alcohol, and that the medical community understand and work to educate people concerning the prevention of FAS/FAE

HB0149 | Student Graduation Attire Revisions

Description
General Description: 

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

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill:
12          ▸     allows all public school students to wear items of religious or cultural significance
13                  as part of their graduation attire.

Bill Details
Year: 
2023
Status: 
House/ filed
Last Action: 
Mar 03, 2023
Sponsor
Representative
Democrat - District 40
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

Being able to honor their family and culture during graduation is of major importance to many of our students.

Commission: 
Student Leadership
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

That Utah PTA and its constituent associations call on state, district and local leaders to uphold the value of diversity and multiculturalism as an asset to our state, our communities and our classrooms by seeking out ways to welcome and support refugee students and families to integrate as part of our school community;

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities: 

3. FAMILY ENGAGEMENT. Support policies which will increase family and community engagement and promote local positive parental involvement across the state of Utah.

HB0153S01 | Child Welfare Interview Requirements

Description
General Description: 

This bill makes changes concerning child interviews during a child welfare investigation.

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill requires the Division of Child and Family Services (division) to take certain steps to ensure a child who is interviewed during a child welfare investigation is supported and comfortable during the interview; requires a support person who is present at a child's interview during a child welfare investigation to meet certain requirements. This does not apply when the interview happens at a Children's Justice Center as those are designed as child friendly centers for children that have been abused. The majority of the time it is a parent that brings them there.

Bill Details
Year: 
2022
Status: 
Governor Signed
Last Action: 
Mar 24, 2022
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 9
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

A child going through a child welfare interview has already experienced a stressful situation. Children should be able to feel as comfortable as possible in the interviews.

Commission: 
Family Life
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

That Utah PTA and its constituent associations advocate for adequate laws to protect children
in all areas of child abuse, neglect, maltreatment, and exploitation.