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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill provides that local school boards shall provide Internet and online safety
10 policies to prevent access by minors to objectionable content.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 ▸ adds devices to the local school board policy for restricting access to obscene or
14 pornographic material;
15 ▸ requires that at least every six months the local school board check its Internet
16 filtering software to insure that children are not accessing objectionable content;
17 ▸ requires that the local school board report instances of noncompliance to the state
18 school board; and
19 ▸ provides that the state school board will compile a report on instances of
20 noncompliance and submit it to the Education Interim Committee.
21 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
22 None
23 Other Special Clauses:
24 None
25 Utah Code Sections Affected:
26 AMENDS:
27 53G-7-1002, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
28 53G-7-1003, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
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30 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
31 Section 1. Section 53G-7-1002 is amended to read:
32 53G-7-1002. Internet and online safety policy required.
33 (1) State funds may not be provided to any local school board that provides access to
34 the Internet or an online service unless the local school board adopts and enforces a policy to
35 restrict access to Internet or online sites, databases, or networks that contain obscene or
36 pornographic material as described in Section 76-10-1203.
37 (2) This part applies to any computer, phone, or other device capable of accessing the
38 Internet provided to students or educators.
39 Section 2. Section 53G-7-1003 is amended to read:
40 53G-7-1003. Process and content standards for policy -- Internal testing of filters.
41 (1) "Policy" as used in this section means the elementary and secondary school online
42 access policy adopted by a local school board to meet the requirements of Section 53G-7-1002.
43 (2) (a) Each policy shall be developed under the direction of the local school board,
44 adopted in an open meeting, and have an effective date. The local school board shall review
45 the policy at least every three years, and a footnote shall be added to the policy indicating the
46 effective date of the last review.
47 (b) Notice of the availability of the policy shall be posted in a conspicuous place within
48 each school. The local school board may issue any other public notice it considers appropriate.
49 (3) The policy shall:
50 (a) state that it restricts access to Internet or online sites, databases, or networks that
51 contain obscene or pornographic material and shall state how the local school board intends to
52 meet the requirements of Section 53G-7-1002;
53 (b) inform the public that administrative procedures and guidelines for the staff to
54 follow in enforcing the policy have been adopted and are available for review at the school; and
55 (c) inform the public that procedures to handle complaints about the policy, its
56 enforcement, or about observed behavior have been adopted and are available for review at the
57 school.
58 (4) The local school board shall periodically, but not less than every six months,
59 perform a check of the Internet filtering software utilized by each school to insure that the
60 requirements of Section 53G-7-1002 are being met. These checks shall take into consideration
61 parental complaints received by a school regarding content accessed by students.
62 (5) The local school board shall create a record each time a check of Internet filtering
63 software allows access to obscene or pornographic material. The records shall be compiled into
64 a report and provided to the Internet filtering software provider.
65 (6) Records created in accordance with Subsection (5) shall be compiled and reported
66 to the state school board not later than September 30 of each year. The report shall detail efforts
67 to curtail the access reported in Subsection (5).
68 (7) The state school board shall compile all records received in accordance with
69 Subsection (6) into a report to be presented to the Education Interim Committee no later than
70 November 30 of each year.