Senator Luz Escamilla proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
JUVENILE JUSTICE MODIFICATIONS

2     
2024 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Luz Escamilla

5     
House Sponsor: Tyler Clancy

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill addresses a notification to a school from a juvenile court.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     requires a local education agency (LEA) to transfer a notification from a juvenile
13     court regarding a student to another LEA for one year; and
14          ▸     makes technical corrections.
15     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
16          None
17     Other Special Clauses:
18          This bill provides a special effective date.
19          This bill provides a coordination clause.
20     Utah Code Sections Affected:
21     AMENDS:
22          53G-8-403, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 161
23          80-6-103, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 161
24     Utah Code Sections Affected By Coordination Clause:
25          53G-8-403, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 161

26     

27     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28     The following section is affected by a coordination clause at the end of this bill.
29          Section 1. Section 53G-8-403 is amended to read:
30          53G-8-403. Superintendent required to notify school.
31          (1) "LEA head" means the superintendent of a school district or the director of a
32     charter school.
33          (2) Within three days of receiving a notification from the juvenile court or a law
34     enforcement agency under Section 80-6-103, the [district superintendent] LEA head or LEA
35     head's designee shall notify the principal of the school the juvenile attends or last attended.
36          [(2)] (3) Upon receipt of the information, the principal shall:
37          (a) make a notation in a secure file other than the student's permanent file; and
38          (b) if the student is still enrolled in the school, notify staff members who, in his
39     opinion, should know of the adjudication.
40          [(3)] (4) A person receiving information pursuant to this part may only disclose the
41     information to other persons having both a right and a current need to know.
42          [(4)] (5) Access to secure files shall be limited to persons authorized to receive
43     information under this part.
44          (6) Beginning no later than July 1, 2025, an LEA shall digitally maintain the secure file
45     described in Subsection (3) or, if available, the students related reintegration plan described in
46     53G-8-213, for one year from the day the notice is received and ensure the secure file follows
47     the student if the student transfers to a different school or LEA.
48          Section 2. Section 80-6-103 is amended to read:
49          80-6-103. Notification to a school -- Civil and criminal liability.
50          (1) As used in this section:
51          (a) "School" means a school in a local education agency.
52          (b) "Local education agency" means a school district, a charter school, or the Utah
53     Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
54          (c) "School official" means the superintendent of a school district or the director of a
55     charter school or designee in which the minor resides or attends school.
56          (d) "Transferee school official" means the superintendent of a school district or the

57     director of a charter school or designee in which the minor resides or attends school if the
58     minor is admitted to home detention.
59          [(c) "School official" means:]
60          [(i) the school superintendent of the district in which the minor resides or attends
61     school; or]
62          [(ii) if there is no school superintendent for the school, the principal of the school
63     where the minor attends.]
64          [(d) "Transferee school official" means:]
65          [(i) the school superintendent of the district in which the minor resides or attends
66     school if the minor is admitted to home detention; or]
67          [(ii) if there is no school superintendent for the school, the principal of the school
68     where the minor attends if the minor is admitted to home detention.]
69          (2) A notification under this section is provided for a minor's supervision and student
70     safety.
71          (3) (a) If a minor is taken into temporary custody under Section 80-6-201 for a violent
72     felony or an offense in violation of Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 5, Weapons, the peace officer, or
73     other person who has taken the minor into temporary custody, shall notify a school official
74     within five days after the day on which the minor is taken into temporary custody.
75          (b) A notification under this Subsection (3) shall only disclose:
76          (i) the name of the minor;
77          (ii) the offense for which the minor was taken into temporary custody or admitted to
78     detention; and
79          (iii) if available, the name of the victim if the victim resides in the same school district
80     as the minor or attends the same school as the minor.
81          (4) After a detention hearing for a minor who is alleged to have committed a violent
82     felony, or an offense in violation of Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 5, Weapons, the juvenile court
83     shall order a juvenile probation officer to notify a school official, or a transferee school official,
84     and the appropriate local law enforcement agency of the juvenile court's decision, including
85     any disposition, order, or no-contact order.
86          (5) If a designated staff member of a detention facility admits a minor to home
87     detention under Section 80-6-205 and notifies the juvenile court of that admission, the juvenile

88     court shall order a juvenile probation officer to notify a school official, or a transferee school
89     official, and the appropriate local law enforcement agency that the minor has been admitted to
90     home detention.
91          (6) (a) If the juvenile court adjudicates a minor for an offense of violence or an offense
92     in violation of Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 5, Weapons, the juvenile court shall order a juvenile
93     probation officer to notify a school official, or a transferee school official, of the adjudication.
94          (b) A notification under this Subsection (6) shall be given to a school official, or a
95     transferee school official, within three days after the day on which the minor is adjudicated.
96          (c) A notification under this section shall include:
97          (i) the name of the minor;
98          (ii) the offense for which the minor was adjudicated; and
99          (iii) if available, the name of the victim if the victim:
100          (A) resides in the same school district as the minor; or
101          (B) attends the same school as the minor.
102          (7) If the juvenile court orders probation under Section 80-6-702, the juvenile court
103     shall order a juvenile probation officer to notify the appropriate local law enforcement agency
104     and the school official of the juvenile court's order for probation.
105          (8) (a) An employee of the local law enforcement agency, or the school the minor
106     attends, who discloses a notification under this section is not:
107          (i) civilly liable except when the disclosure constitutes fraud or willful misconduct as
108     provided in Section 63G-7-202; and
109          (ii) civilly or criminally liable except when the disclosure constitutes a knowing
110     violation of Section 63G-2-801.
111          (b) An employee of a governmental agency is immune from any criminal liability for
112     failing to provide the information required by this section, unless the employee fails to act due
113     to malice, gross negligence, or deliberate indifference to the consequences.
114          (9) (a) A notification under this section shall be classified as a protected record under
115     Section 63G-2-305.
116          (b) All other records of disclosures under this section are governed by Title 63G,
117     Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, and the Family Educational
118     Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g.

119          Section 3. Effective date.
120          This bill takes effect on July 1, 2024.
121          Section 4. Coordinating S.B. 246 with H.B. 331.
122           If S.B. 246, Juvenile Justice Modifications, and H.B. 331, School and Classroom
123     Amendments, both pass and become law, the Legislature intends that, on July 1, 2024, changes
124     to Section 53G-8-403 in S.B. 246 supersede amendments to Section 53G-8-403 in H.B. 331.