Utah Enabling Act - Sections Regarding School Trust Lands
The Utah Enabling Act is the federal law passed in 1894 which established the terms and conditions on with Utah could create a state constitution and become a state.
ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM - Section 3
That provision shall be made for the establishment and maintenance of a system of public schools, which shall be open to all the children of said state and free from sectarian control.
LAND GRANT FOR COMMON SCHOOLS - Section 6
That upon the admission of said state into the Union, sections numbered two, sixteen, thirty-two, and thirty-six in every township of said proposed state, and where such sections, or any parts thereof, have been sold or otherwise disposed of by or under the authority of any act of Congress, other lands equivalent thereto, in legal subdivisions of not less than one quarter section, and as contiguous as may be to the section in lieu of which the same is taken, are hereby granted to said state for the support of common schools, such indemnity lands to be selected within said state in such manner as the Legislature may provide, with the approval of the secretary of the interior; provided, that the second, sixteenth, thirty-second, and thirty-sixth sections embraced in permanent reservations for national purposes shall not, at any time, be subject to the grants nor to the indemnity provisions of this act, nor shall any lands embraced in Indian, military, or other reservations of any character be subject to the grants or to the indemnity provisions of this act until the reservation shall have been extinguished and such lands be restored to and become a part of the public domain.
PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND - Section 10
That the proceeds of lands herein granted for educational purposes, except as hereinafter otherwise provided, shall constitute a permanent school fund, the interest of which only shall be expended for the support of said schools, and such land shall not be subject to preemption, homestead entry, or any other entry under the land laws of the United States, whether surveyed or un-surveyed, but shall be surveyed for school purposes only.
Utah State Constitution - Sections Regarding School Trust Lands
FREE NONSECTARIAN SCHOOLS - Article X, Section 1
The Legislature shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of the state’s education systems including: (a) a public education system, which shall be open to all children of the state; and (b) a higher education system. Both systems shall be free from sectarian control.
DEFINING WHAT SHALL CONSTITUTE THE PUBLIE SCHOOL SYSTEM - Article X, Section 2
The public education system shall include all public elementary and secondary schools and such other
schools and programs as the Legislature may designate. The higher education system shall include all public
universities and colleges and such other institutions and programs as the Legislature may designate. Public
elementary and secondary schools shall be free, except the Legislature may authorize the imposition of fees in
the secondary schools.
STATE SCHOOL FUND AND UNIFORM SCHOOL FUND - ESTABLISHMENT AND USE - DEBT GUARANTY - Article X, Section 5
1. There is established a permanent State School Fund which shall consist of revenue from the following sources:
A. Proceeds from the sales of all lands granted by the United States to this state for the support of the public elementary and secondary schools;
B. 5% of the net proceeds from the sales of United States public lands lying within this state;
C. All revenues derived from nonrenewable resources on state lands, other than sovereign lands and lands granted for other specific purposes;
D. All revenues derived from the use of school trust lands;
E. Revenues appropriated by the Legislature; and
F. Other revenues and assets received by the fund under any other provision of law or by bequest or donation.
2.
A. The State School Fund principal shall be safely invested and held by the state in perpetuity.
B. Only the interest and dividends received from investment of the State School Fund may be expended for the support of the public education system as defined in Article X, Section 2 of this constitution.
C. The Legislature may make appropriations from school trust land revenues to provide funding necessary for the proper administration and management of those lands consistent with the state’s fiduciary responsibilities towards the beneficiaries of the school land trust. Unexpended balances remaining from the appropriation at the end of each fiscal year shall be deposited in the State School Fund.
D. The State School Fund shall be guaranteed by the state against loss or diversion.
3. There is established a Uniform School Fund which shall consist of revenue from the following sources:
A. Interest and dividends from the State School Fund;
B. Revenues appropriated by the Legislature; and
C. Other revenues received by the fund under any other provision of law or by donation.
4. The Uniform School Fund shall be maintained and used for the support of the state’s public education system as defined in Article X, Section 2 of this constitution and apportioned as the Legislature shall provide.
5.
A. Notwithstanding Article VI, Section 29, the state may guarantee the debt of school districts created in accordance with Article XIV, Section 3, and may guarantee debt incurred to refund the school district debt. Any debt guaranty, the school district debt guaranteed thereby, or any borrowing of the state undertaken to facilitate the payment of the state’s obligation under any debt guaranty shall not be included as a debt of the state for purposes of the 1.5% limitation of Article XIV, Section 1.
B. The Legislature may provide that reimbursement to the state shall be obtained from monies which
otherwise would be used for the support of the educational programs of the school district which
incurred the debt with respect to which a payment under the state’s guaranty was made.
PROCEEDS OF LAND GRANTS CONSTITUTE PERMANENT FUNDS - Article X, Section 7
The proceeds from the sale of lands reserved by Acts of Congress for the establishment or benefit of the state’s universities and colleges shall constitute permanent funds to be used for the purposes for which the funds were established. The funds’ principal shall be safely invested and held by the state in perpetuity. Any income from the funds shall be used exclusively for the support and maintenance of the respective universities and colleges. The Legislature by statute may provide for necessary administrative costs. The funds shall be guaranteed by the state against loss or diversion.
SCHOOL AND INSTITUTIONAL TRUST LANDS - Article XX, Section 2
Lands granted to the state under Sections 6, 8, and 12 of the Utah Enabling Act, and other lands which may be added to those lands pursuant to those sections through purchase, exchange, or other means, are declared to be school and institutional trust lands, held in trust by the state for the respective beneficiaries and purposes stated in the Enabling Act grants.