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H.B. 100

             1     

ACCESSING PORNOGRAPHY ON SCHOOL

             2     
PROPERTY

             3     
2007 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Chief Sponsor: DeMar Bud Bowman

             6     
Senate Sponsor: D. Chris Buttars

             7     
             8      LONG TITLE
             9      General Description:
             10          This bill establishes penalties for accessing pornography on school property.
             11      Highlighted Provisions:
             12          This bill:
             13          .    allows a school to suspend or expel a student for accessing pornographic material at
             14      school; and
             15          .    makes it a crime to access pornographic material on school property.
             16      Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
             17          None
             18      Other Special Clauses:
             19          None
             20      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             21      AMENDS:
             22          53A-11-904, as last amended by Chapter 203, Laws of Utah 2003
             23      ENACTS:
             24          76-10-1234, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             25     
             26      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             27          Section 1. Section 53A-11-904 is amended to read:


             28           53A-11-904. Grounds for suspension or expulsion from a public school.
             29          (1) A student may be suspended or expelled from a public school for any of the
             30      following reasons:
             31          (a) frequent or flagrant willful disobedience, defiance of proper authority, or disruptive
             32      behavior, including the use of foul, profane, vulgar, or abusive language;
             33          (b) willful destruction or defacing of school property;
             34          (c) behavior or threatened behavior which poses an immediate and significant threat to
             35      the welfare, safety, or morals of other students or school personnel or to the operation of the
             36      school;
             37          (d) possession, control, or use of an alcoholic beverage as defined in Section
             38      32A-1-105 ; [or]
             39          (e) behavior proscribed under Subsection (2) which threatens harm or does harm to the
             40      school or school property, to a person associated with the school, or property associated with
             41      that person, regardless of where it occurs[.]; or
             42          (f) possession or use of pornographic material on school property.
             43          (2) (a) A student shall be suspended or expelled from a public school for any of the
             44      following reasons:
             45          (i) any serious violation affecting another student or a staff member, or any serious
             46      violation occurring in a school building, in or on school property, or in conjunction with any
             47      school activity, including:
             48          (A) the possession, control, or actual or threatened use of a real weapon, explosive, or
             49      noxious or flammable material;
             50          (B) the actual or threatened use of a look alike weapon with intent to intimidate another
             51      person or to disrupt normal school activities; or
             52          (C) the sale, control, or distribution of a drug or controlled substance as defined in
             53      Section 58-37-2 , an imitation controlled substance defined in Section 58-37b-2 , or drug
             54      paraphernalia as defined in Section 58-37a-3 ; or
             55          (ii) the commission of an act involving the use of force or the threatened use of force
             56      which if committed by an adult would be a felony or class A misdemeanor.
             57          (b) A student who commits a violation of Subsection (2)(a) involving a real or look
             58      alike weapon, explosive, or flammable material shall be expelled from school for a period of


             59      not less than one year subject to the following:
             60          (i) within 45 days after the expulsion the student shall appear before the student's local
             61      school board superintendent or the superintendent's designee, accompanied by a parent or legal
             62      guardian; and
             63          (ii) the superintendent shall determine:
             64          (A) what conditions must be met by the student and the student's parent for the student
             65      to return to school;
             66          (B) if the student should be placed on probation in a regular or alternative school
             67      setting consistent with Section 53A-11-907 , and what conditions must be met by the student in
             68      order to ensure the safety of students and faculty at the school the student is placed in; and
             69          (C) if it would be in the best interest of both the school district and the student to
             70      modify the expulsion term to less than a year, conditioned on approval by the local school
             71      board and giving highest priority to providing a safe school environment for all students.
             72          (3) A student may be denied admission to a public school on the basis of having been
             73      expelled from that or any other school during the preceding 12 months.
             74          (4) A suspension or expulsion under this section is not subject to the age limitations
             75      under Subsection 53A-11-102 (1).
             76          (5) Each local school board shall prepare an annual report for the State Board of
             77      Education on:
             78          (a) each violation committed under this section; and
             79          (b) each action taken by the school district against a student who committed the
             80      violation.
             81          Section 2. Section 76-10-1234 is enacted to read:
             82          76-10-1234. Accessing pornographic or indecent material on school property.
             83          (1) As used in this section:
             84          (a) "Pornographic or indecent material" means any material:
             85          (i) defined as harmful to minors in Section 76-10-1201 ;
             86          (ii) described as pornographic in Section 76-10-1203 ; or
             87          (iii) described in Section 76-10-1227 .
             88          (b) "School property" means property, including land and improvements, that a school
             89      district or charter school owns, leases, or occupies.


             90          (2) Except as provided in Subsection (3), a person, including a minor, is guilty of
             91      accessing pornographic or indecent material on school property when the person willfully or
             92      knowingly creates, views, listens to, or otherwise gains access to pornographic or indecent
             93      material while present on school property.
             94          (3) This section does not apply to school or law enforcement personnel when the
             95      access to pornographic or indecent material on school property is limited to:
             96          (a) investigation of a violation of this section; or
             97          (b) enforcement of this section.
             98          (4) Each separate offense under this section is a class B misdemeanor.
             99          (5) This section does not prohibit disciplinary action for actions that violate this
             100      section.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 1-4-07 10:49 AM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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