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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill addresses transparency regarding materials accessible to students in public
10 school libraries.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 ▸ requires local education agencies that provide school libraries to provide an online
14 platform that allows a parent to view information regarding materials the parent's
15 child borrows from the school library; and
16 ▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
17 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18 None
19 Other Special Clauses:
20 None
21 Utah Code Sections Affected:
22 AMENDS:
23 53G-4-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapters 84, 262, 324, and 345
24 53G-5-405, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 192
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26 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
27 Section 1. Section 53G-4-402 is amended to read:
28 53G-4-402. Powers and duties generally.
29 (1) A local school board shall:
30 (a) implement the core standards for Utah public schools using instructional materials
31 that best correlate to the core standards for Utah public schools and graduation requirements;
32 (b) administer tests, required by the state board, which measure the progress of each
33 student, and coordinate with the state superintendent and state board to assess results and create
34 plans to improve the student's progress, which shall be submitted to the state board for
35 approval;
36 (c) use progress-based assessments as part of a plan to identify schools, teachers, and
37 students that need remediation and determine the type and amount of federal, state, and local
38 resources to implement remediation;
39 (d) for each grading period and for each course in which a student is enrolled, issue a
40 grade or performance report to the student:
41 (i) that reflects the student's work, including the student's progress based on mastery,
42 for the grading period; and
43 (ii) in accordance with the local school board's adopted grading or performance
44 standards and criteria;
45 (e) develop early warning systems for students or classes failing to make progress;
46 (f) work with the state board to establish a library of documented best practices,
47 consistent with state and federal regulations, for use by the local districts;
48 (g) implement training programs for school administrators, including basic
49 management training, best practices in instructional methods, budget training, staff
50 management, managing for learning results and continuous improvement, and how to help
51 every child achieve optimal learning in basic academic subjects; and
52 (h) ensure that the local school board meets the data collection and reporting standards
53 described in Section 53E-3-501.
54 (2) Local school boards shall spend Minimum School Program funds for programs and
55 activities for which the state board has established minimum standards or rules under Section
56 53E-3-501.
57 (3) (a) A local school board may purchase, sell, and make improvements on school
58 sites, buildings, and equipment and construct, erect, and furnish school buildings.
59 (b) School sites or buildings may only be conveyed or sold on local school board
60 resolution affirmed by at least two-thirds of the members.
61 (4) (a) A local school board may participate in the joint construction or operation of a
62 school attended by children residing within the district and children residing in other districts
63 either within or outside the state.
64 (b) Any agreement for the joint operation or construction of a school shall:
65 (i) be signed by the president of the local school board of each participating district;
66 (ii) include a mutually agreed upon pro rata cost; and
67 (iii) be filed with the state board.
68 (5) A local school board may establish, locate, and maintain elementary, secondary,
69 and applied technology schools.
70 (6) Except as provided in Section 53E-3-905, a local school board may enroll children
71 in school who are at least five years old before September 2 of the year in which admission is
72 sought.
73 (7) A local school board:
74 (a) may establish and support school libraries[
75 (b) shall provide an online platform:
76 (i) through which a parent is able to view the title, author, and a description of any
77 material the parent's child borrows from the school library, including a history of borrowed
78 materials, either using an existing online platform that the LEA uses or through a separate
79 platform; and
80 (ii) (A) for a school district with 1,000 or more enrolled students, no later than August
81 1, 2024; and
82 (B) for a school district with fewer than 1,000 enrolled students, no later than August
83 1, 2026.
84 (8) A local school board may collect damages for the loss, injury, or destruction of
85 school property.
86 (9) A local school board may authorize guidance and counseling services for children
87 and their parents before, during, or following enrollment of the children in schools.
88 (10) (a) A local school board shall administer and implement federal educational
89 programs in accordance with Title 53E, Chapter 3, Part 8, Implementing Federal or National
90 Education Programs.
91 (b) Federal funds are not considered funds within the school district budget under
92 Chapter 7, Part 3, Budgets.
93 (11) (a) A local school board may organize school safety patrols and adopt policies
94 under which the patrols promote student safety.
95 (b) A student appointed to a safety patrol shall be at least 10 years old and have written
96 parental consent for the appointment.
97 (c) Safety patrol members may not direct vehicular traffic or be stationed in a portion
98 of a highway intended for vehicular traffic use.
99 (d) Liability may not attach to a school district, its employees, officers, or agents or to a
100 safety patrol member, a parent of a safety patrol member, or an authorized volunteer assisting
101 the program by virtue of the organization, maintenance, or operation of a school safety patrol.
102 (12) (a) A local school board may on its own behalf, or on behalf of an educational
103 institution for which the local school board is the direct governing body, accept private grants,
104 loans, gifts, endowments, devises, or bequests that are made for educational purposes.
105 (b) These contributions are not subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
106 (13) (a) A local school board may appoint and fix the compensation of a compliance
107 officer to issue citations for violations of Subsection 76-10-105(2)(b).
108 (b) A person may not be appointed to serve as a compliance officer without the
109 person's consent.
110 (c) A teacher or student may not be appointed as a compliance officer.
111 (14) A local school board shall adopt bylaws and policies for the local school board's
112 own procedures.
113 (15) (a) A local school board shall make and enforce policies necessary for the control
114 and management of the district schools.
115 (b) Local school board policies shall be in writing, filed, and referenced for public
116 access.
117 (16) A local school board may hold school on legal holidays other than Sundays.
118 (17) (a) A local school board shall establish for each school year a school traffic safety
119 committee to implement this Subsection (17).
120 (b) The committee shall be composed of one representative of:
121 (i) the schools within the district;
122 (ii) the Parent Teachers' Association of the schools within the district;
123 (iii) the municipality or county;
124 (iv) state or local law enforcement; and
125 (v) state or local traffic safety engineering.
126 (c) The committee shall:
127 (i) receive suggestions from school community councils, parents, teachers, and others
128 and recommend school traffic safety improvements, boundary changes to enhance safety, and
129 school traffic safety program measures;
130 (ii) review and submit annually to the Department of Transportation and affected
131 municipalities and counties a child access routing plan for each elementary, middle, and junior
132 high school within the district;
133 (iii) consult the Utah Safety Council and the Division of Family Health Services and
134 provide training to all school children in kindergarten through grade 6, within the district, on
135 school crossing safety and use; and
136 (iv) help ensure the district's compliance with rules made by the Department of
137 Transportation under Section 41-6a-303.
138 (d) The committee may establish subcommittees as needed to assist in accomplishing
139 the committee's duties under Subsection (17)(c).
140 (18) (a) A local school board shall adopt and implement a comprehensive emergency
141 response plan to prevent and combat violence in the local school board's public schools, on
142 school grounds, on its school vehicles, and in connection with school-related activities or
143 events.
144 (b) The plan shall:
145 (i) include prevention, intervention, and response components;
146 (ii) be consistent with the student conduct and discipline policies required for school
147 districts under Chapter 11, Part 2, Miscellaneous Requirements;
148 (iii) require professional learning for all district and school building staff on what their
149 roles are in the emergency response plan;
150 (iv) provide for coordination with local law enforcement and other public safety
151 representatives in preventing, intervening, and responding to violence in the areas and activities
152 referred to in Subsection (18)(a); and
153 (v) include procedures to notify a student, to the extent practicable, who is off campus
154 at the time of a school violence emergency because the student is:
155 (A) participating in a school-related activity; or
156 (B) excused from school for a period of time during the regular school day to
157 participate in religious instruction at the request of the student's parent.
158 (c) The state board, through the state superintendent, shall develop comprehensive
159 emergency response plan models that local school boards may use, where appropriate, to
160 comply with Subsection (18)(a).
161 (d) A local school board shall, by July 1 of each year, certify to the state board that its
162 plan has been practiced at the school level and presented to and reviewed by its teachers,
163 administrators, students, and their parents and local law enforcement and public safety
164 representatives.
165 (19) (a) A local school board may adopt an emergency response plan for the treatment
166 of sports-related injuries that occur during school sports practices and events.
167 (b) The plan may be implemented by each secondary school in the district that has a
168 sports program for students.
169 (c) The plan may:
170 (i) include emergency personnel, emergency communication, and emergency
171 equipment components;
172 (ii) require professional learning on the emergency response plan for school personnel
173 who are involved in sports programs in the district's secondary schools; and
174 (iii) provide for coordination with individuals and agency representatives who:
175 (A) are not employees of the school district; and
176 (B) would be involved in providing emergency services to students injured while
177 participating in sports events.
178 (d) The local school board, in collaboration with the schools referred to in Subsection
179 (19)(b), may review the plan each year and make revisions when required to improve or
180 enhance the plan.
181 (e) The state board, through the state superintendent, shall provide local school boards
182 with an emergency plan response model that local school boards may use to comply with the
183 requirements of this Subsection (19).
184 (20) A local school board shall do all other things necessary for the maintenance,
185 prosperity, and success of the schools and the promotion of education.
186 (21) (a) Before closing a school or changing the boundaries of a school, a local school
187 board shall:
188 (i) at least 120 days before approving the school closure or school boundary change,
189 provide notice to the following that the local school board is considering the closure or
190 boundary change:
191 (A) parents of students enrolled in the school, using the same form of communication
192 the local school board regularly uses to communicate with parents;
193 (B) parents of students enrolled in other schools within the school district that may be
194 affected by the closure or boundary change, using the same form of communication the local
195 school board regularly uses to communicate with parents; and
196 (C) the governing council and the mayor of the municipality in which the school is
197 located;
198 (ii) provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposed school closure or
199 school boundary change during at least two public local school board meetings; and
200 (iii) hold a public hearing as defined in Section 10-9a-103 and provide public notice of
201 the public hearing as described in Subsection (21)(b).
202 (b) The notice of a public hearing required under Subsection (21)(a)(iii) shall:
203 (i) indicate the:
204 (A) school or schools under consideration for closure or boundary change; and
205 (B) the date, time, and location of the public hearing;
206 (ii) at least 10 days before the public hearing, be:
207 (A) published:
208 (I) in a newspaper of general circulation in the area; and
209 (II) on the Utah Public Notice Website created in Section 63A-16-601; and
210 (B) posted in at least three public locations within the municipality in which the school
211 is located on the school district's official website, and prominently at the school; and
212 (iii) at least 30 days before the public hearing described in Subsection (21)(a)(iii), be
213 provided as described in Subsections (21)(a)(i)(A), (B), and (C).
214 (22) A local school board may implement a facility energy efficiency program
215 established under Title 11, Chapter 44, Performance Efficiency Act.
216 (23) A local school board may establish or partner with a certified youth court in
217 accordance with Section 80-6-902 or establish or partner with a comparable restorative justice
218 program, in coordination with schools in that district. A school may refer a student to a youth
219 court or a comparable restorative justice program in accordance with Section 53G-8-211.
220 (24) A local school board shall:
221 (a) make curriculum that the school district uses readily accessible and available for a
222 parent to view;
223 (b) annually notify a parent of a student enrolled in the school district of how to access
224 the information described in Subsection (24)(a); and
225 (c) include on the school district's website information about how to access the
226 information described in Subsection (24)(a).
227 Section 2. Section 53G-5-405 is amended to read:
228 53G-5-405. Application of statutes and rules to charter schools.
229 (1) A charter school shall operate in accordance with its charter agreement and is
230 subject to this public education code and other state laws applicable to public schools, except
231 as otherwise provided in this chapter and other related provisions.
232 (2) (a) Except as provided in [
233 rules governing the following do not apply to a charter school:
234 (i) school libraries;
235 (ii) required school administrative and supervisory services; and
236 (iii) required expenditures for instructional supplies.
237 (b) A charter school shall comply with rules implementing statutes that prescribe how
238 state appropriations may be spent.
239 (c) If a charter school provides access to a school library, the charter school governing
240 board shall provide an online platform:
241 (i) through which a parent is able to view the title, author, and a description of any
242 material the parent's child borrows from the school library, including a history of borrowed
243 materials, either using an existing online platform that the charter school uses or through a
244 separate platform; and
245 (ii) (A) for a charter school with 1,000 or more enrolled students, no later than August
246 1, 2024; and
247 (B) for a charter school with fewer than 1,000 enrolled students, no later than August 1,
248 2026.
249 (3) The following provisions of this public education code, and rules adopted under
250 those provisions, do not apply to a charter school:
251 (a) Section 53E-4-408, requiring an independent evaluation of instructional materials;
252 (b) Section 53G-4-409, requiring the use of activity disclosure statements;
253 (c) Sections 53G-7-304 and 53G-7-306, pertaining to fiscal procedures of school
254 districts and local school boards;
255 (d) Section 53G-7-606, requiring notification of intent to dispose of textbooks;
256 (e) Section 53G-7-1202, requiring the establishment of a school community council;
257 and
258 (f) Section 53G-10-404, requiring annual presentations on adoption.
259 (4) For the purposes of Title 63G, Chapter 6a, Utah Procurement Code, a charter
260 school is considered an educational procurement unit as defined in Section 63G-6a-103.
261 (5) Each charter school shall be subject to:
262 (a) Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public Meetings Act; and
263 (b) Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act.
264 (6) A charter school is exempt from Section 51-2a-201.5, requiring accounting reports
265 of certain nonprofit corporations. A charter school is subject to the requirements of Section
266 53G-5-404.
267 (7) (a) The State Charter School Board shall, in concert with the charter schools, study
268 existing state law and administrative rules for the purpose of determining from which laws and
269 rules charter schools should be exempt.
270 (b) (i) The State Charter School Board shall present recommendations for exemption to
271 the state board for consideration.
272 (ii) The state board shall consider the recommendations of the State Charter School
273 Board and respond within 60 days.