Representative Jordan D. Teuscher proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
STUDENT COMMUNICATION METHODS

2     
2024 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Stephanie Pitcher

5     
House Sponsor: Jordan D. Teuscher

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill requires local school boards to develop policies and procedures for students to
10     have non-electronic notification of and access to certain activities and events.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     requires local school boards to develop polices and procedures to ensure that
14     students have non-electronic notification of and access to certain activities and
15     events; 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 2023, Chapters 16, 252, 343, 352, and
24     435
25     

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 special 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] student 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 school board members.
61          (4) (a) A local school board may participate in the joint construction or operation of a
62     school attended by students residing within the district and students 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) A local school board may enter into cooperative agreements with other local school
71     boards to provide educational services that best utilize resources for the overall operation of the
72     school districts, including shared transportation services.
73          (7) [An] Local school boards shall ensure that an agreement under Subsection (6)
74     [shall]:
75          (a) [be] is signed by the president of the local school board of each participating
76     district;
77          (b) [specify] specifies the resource being shared;
78          (c) [include] includes a mutually agreed upon pro rata cost;
79          (d) [include] includes the duration of the agreement; and
80          (e) [be] is filed with the state board.
81          (8) Except as provided in Section 53E-3-905, a local school board may enroll children
82     in school who are at least five years old before September 2 of the year in which admission is
83     sought.
84          (9) A local school board:
85          (a) may establish and support school libraries; and
86          (b) shall provide an online platform:
87          (i) through which a parent is able to view the title, author, and a description of any
88     material the parent's child borrows from the school library, including a history of borrowed
89     materials, either using an existing online platform that the LEA uses or through a separate
90     platform; and
91          (ii) (A) for a school district with 1,000 or more enrolled students, no later than August
92     1, 2024; and
93          (B) for a school district with fewer than 1,000 enrolled students, no later than August
94     1, 2026.
95          (10) A local school board may collect damages for the loss, injury, or destruction of
96     school property.
97          (11) A local school board may authorize guidance and counseling services for students
98     and the student's parents before, during, or following school enrollment.
99          (12) (a) A local school board shall administer and implement federal educational
100     programs in accordance with Title 53E, Chapter 3, Part 8, Implementing Federal or National
101     Education Programs.
102          (b) Federal funds are not considered funds within the school district budget under
103     Chapter 7, Part 3, Budgets.
104          (13) (a) A local school board may organize school safety patrols and adopt policies
105     under which the patrols promote student safety.
106          (b) A student appointed to a safety patrol shall be at least 10 years old and have written
107     parental consent for the appointment.
108          (c) Safety patrol members may not direct vehicular traffic or be stationed in a portion
109     of a highway intended for vehicular traffic use.
110          (d) Liability may not attach to a school district, its employees, officers, or agents, or to
111     a safety patrol member, a parent of a safety patrol member, or an authorized volunteer assisting
112     the program by virtue of the organization, maintenance, or operation of a school safety patrol.
113          (14) (a) A local school board may on its own behalf, or on behalf of an educational
114     institution for which the local school board is the direct governing body, accept private grants,
115     loans, gifts, endowments, devises, or bequests that are made for educational purposes.
116          (b) The contributions made under Subsection (14)(a) are not subject to appropriation
117     by the Legislature.
118          (15) (a) A local school board may appoint and fix the compensation of a compliance
119     officer to issue citations for violations of Subsection 76-10-105(2)(b).
120          (b) A person may not be appointed to serve as a compliance officer without the
121     person's consent.
122          (c) A teacher or student may not be appointed as a compliance officer.
123          (16) A local school board shall adopt bylaws and policies for the local school board's
124     own procedures.
125          (17) (a) A local school board shall make and enforce policies necessary for the control
126     and management of the district schools.
127          (b) Local school board policies shall be in writing, filed, and referenced for public
128     access.
129          (18) A local school board may hold school on legal holidays other than Sundays.
130          (19) (a) A local school board shall establish for each school year a school traffic safety
131     committee to implement this Subsection (19).
132          (b) The committee shall be composed of one representative of:
133          (i) the schools within the district;
134          (ii) the Parent Teachers' Association of the schools within the district;
135          (iii) the municipality or county;
136          (iv) state or local law enforcement; and
137          (v) state or local traffic safety engineering.
138          (c) The committee shall:
139          (i) receive suggestions from school community councils, parents, teachers, and others,
140     and recommend school traffic safety improvements, boundary changes to enhance safety, and
141     school traffic safety program measures;
142          (ii) review and submit annually to the Department of Transportation and affected
143     municipalities and counties a child access routing plan for each elementary, middle, and junior
144     high school within the district;
145          (iii) [consult] in consultation with the Utah Safety Council and the Division of Family
146     Health Services [and], provide training to all students in kindergarten through grade 6, within
147     the district, on school crossing safety and use; and
148          (iv) help ensure the district's compliance with rules made by the Department of
149     Transportation under Section 41-6a-303.
150          (d) The committee may establish subcommittees as needed to assist in accomplishing
151     the committee's duties under Subsection (19)(c).
152          (20) (a) A local school board shall adopt and implement a comprehensive emergency
153     response plan to prevent and combat violence in the local school board's public schools, on
154     school grounds, on its school vehicles, and in connection with school-related activities or
155     events.
156          (b) The local school board shall ensure that the plan [shall]:
157          (i) [include] includes prevention, intervention, and response components;
158          (ii) [be] is consistent with the [student conduct and discipline] school discipline and
159     conduct policies required for school districts under [Chapter 11, Part 2, Miscellaneous
160     Requirements] Chapter 8, Part 2, School Discipline and Conduct Plans;
161          (iii) [require] requires professional learning for all district and school building staff on
162     the staff's roles in the emergency response plan;
163          (iv) [provide] provides for coordination with local law enforcement and other public
164     safety representatives in preventing, intervening, and responding to violence in the areas and
165     activities referred to in Subsection (20)(a); and
166          (v) [include] includes procedures to notify a student who is off campus at the time of a
167     school violence emergency because the student is:
168          (A) participating in a school-related activity; or
169          (B) excused from school for a period of time during the regular school day to
170     participate in religious instruction at the request of the student's parent.
171          (c) The state board, through the state superintendent, shall develop comprehensive
172     emergency response plan models that local school boards may use, where appropriate, to
173     comply with Subsection (20)(a).
174          (d) A local school board shall, by July 1 of each year, certify to the state board that its
175     plan has been practiced at the school level and presented to and reviewed by its teachers,
176     administrators, students, and the student's parents and local law enforcement and public safety
177     representatives.
178          (21) (a) A local school board may adopt an emergency response plan for the treatment
179     of sports-related injuries that occur during school sports practices and events.
180          (b) The plan may be implemented by each secondary school in the district that has a
181     sports program for students.
182          (c) The plan may:
183          (i) include emergency personnel, emergency communication, and emergency
184     equipment components;
185          (ii) require professional learning on the emergency response plan for school personnel
186     who are involved in sports programs in the district's secondary schools; and
187          (iii) provide for coordination with individuals and agency representatives who:
188          (A) are not employees of the school district; and
189          (B) would be involved in providing emergency services to students injured while
190     participating in sports events.
191          (d) The local school board, in collaboration with the schools referred to in Subsection
192     (21)(b), may review the plan each year and make revisions when required to improve or
193     enhance the plan.
194          (e) The state board, through the state superintendent, shall provide local school boards
195     with an emergency plan response model that local school boards may use to comply with the
196     requirements of this Subsection (21).
197          (22) A local school board shall approve an LEA's polices and procedures that an LEA
198     develops to ensure that students have non-electronic notification of and access to:
199          (a) school activities and events, including:
200          (i) schedule changes;
201          (ii) extracurricular activities;
202          (iii) sporting events; and
203          (iv) the emergency response plans described in Subsections (20) and (21); and
204          (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (22)(a), an LEA may provide electronic notification of
205     and access to school activities and events as described in Subsection (22)(a)(i) and (ii) if:
206          (i) (A) the school provides each student with an electronic device; and
207          (B) the electronic device is capable of receiving electronic notification of and access to
208     school activities and events as described in Subsection (22)(a)(i) and (ii); or
209          (ii) an emergency, unforeseen circumstance, or other incident arises and an LEA cannot
210     reasonable provide timely non-electronic notification.
211          (c) An LEA may not require the use of a privately owned electronic device to complete
212     course work.
213          [(22)]
214          (23) A local school board shall do all other things necessary for the maintenance,
215     prosperity, and success of the schools and the promotion of education.
216          [(23)] (24) (a) Before closing a school or changing the boundaries of a school, a local
217     school board shall:
218          (i) [at least] on or before 90 days before [approving] the day on which the local school
219     board approves the school closure or school boundary change, provide notice that the local
220     school board is considering the closure or boundary change to:
221          (A) parents of students enrolled in the school, using the same form of communication
222     the local school board regularly uses to communicate with parents;
223          (B) parents of students enrolled in other schools within the school district that may be
224     affected by the closure or boundary change, using the same form of communication the local
225     school board regularly uses to communicate with parents; and
226          (C) the governing council and the mayor of the municipality in which the school is
227     located;
228          (ii) provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposed school closure or
229     school boundary change during at least two public local school board meetings; and
230          (iii) hold a public hearing as defined in Section 10-9a-103 and provide public notice of
231     the public hearing [as described in] in accordance with Subsection [(23)(b)] (24)(b).
232          (b) [The notice of a public hearing required under Subsection (23)(a)(iii)] A local
233     school board shall:
234          (i) [indicate the] ensure the notice of a public hearing required under Subsection
235     (24)(a)(iii) indicates the:
236          (A) school or schools under consideration for closure or boundary change; and
237          (B) the date, time, and location of the public hearing;
238          (ii) for at least 10 days before the day [of] on which the public hearing[, be published]
239     occurs, publish the notice of public hearing for the school district in which the school is
240     located, as a class A notice under Section 63G-30-102; and
241          (iii) at least 30 days before the day on which the public hearing [described in
242     Subsection (23)(a)(iii), be provided as described in Subsections (23)(a)(i)] occurs, provide
243     notice of the public hearing in the same manner as the notice of consideration under Subsection
244     (24)(a)(i).
245          [(24)] (25) A local school board may implement a facility energy efficiency program
246     established under Title 11, Chapter 44, Performance Efficiency Act.
247          [(25)] (26) A local school board may establish or partner with a certified youth court in
248     accordance with Section 80-6-902 or establish or partner with a comparable restorative justice
249     program, in coordination with schools in that district. A school may refer a student to a youth
250     court or a comparable restorative justice program in accordance with Section 53G-8-211.
251          [(26)] (27) (a) As used in this Subsection [(26)] (27):
252          (i) "Learning material" means any learning material or resource used to deliver or
253     support a student's learning, including textbooks, reading materials, videos, digital materials,
254     websites, and other online applications.
255          (ii) (A) "Instructional material" means learning material that a local school board
256     adopts and approves for use within the LEA.
257          (B) "Instructional material" does not include learning material used in a concurrent
258     enrollment, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate program or class or another
259     class with required instructional material that is not subject to selection by the local school
260     board.
261          (iii) "Supplemental material" means learning material that:
262          (A) an educator selects for classroom use; and
263          (B) a local school board has not considered and adopted, approved, or prohibited for
264     classroom use within the LEA.
265          (b) A local school board shall:
266          (i) make instructional material that the school district uses readily accessible and
267     available for a parent to view;
268          (ii) annually notify a parent of a student enrolled in the school district of how to access
269     the information described in Subsection [(26)(b)(i)] (27)(b)(i); and
270          (iii) include on the school district's website information about how to access the
271     information described in Subsection [(26)(b)(i)] (27)(b)(i).
272          (c) In selecting and approving instructional materials for use in the classroom, a local
273     school board shall:
274          (i) establish an open process, involving educators and parents of students enrolled in
275     the LEA, to review and recommend instructional materials for board approval; and
276          (ii) ensure that under the process described in Subsection [(26)(c)(i)] (27)(c)(i), the
277     board:
278          (A) before the meetings described in Subsection [(26)(c)(ii)(B)] (27)(c)(ii)(B), posts
279     the recommended learning material online to allow for public review or, for copyrighted
280     material, makes the recommended learning material available at the LEA for public review;
281          (B) before adopting or approving the recommended instructional materials, holds at
282     least two public meetings on the recommendation that provides an opportunity for educators
283     whom the LEA employs and parents of students enrolled in the LEA to express views and
284     opinions on the recommendation; and
285          (C) adopts or approves the recommended instructional materials in an open and regular
286     board meeting.
287          (d) A local school board shall adopt a supplemental materials policy that provides
288     flexible guidance to educators on the selection of supplemental materials or resources that an
289     educator reviews and selects for classroom use using the educator's professional judgment,
290     including whether any process or permission is required before classroom use of the materials
291     or resources.
292          (e) If an LEA contracts with another party to provide online or digital materials, the
293     LEA shall include in the contract a requirement that the provider give notice to the LEA any
294     time that the provider makes a material change to the content of the online or digital materials,
295     excluding regular informational updates on current events.
296          (f) Nothing in this Subsection [(26)] (27) requires a local school board to review all
297     learning materials used within the LEA.
298          Section 2. Effective date.
299          This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.