Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

LEGISLATIVE GENERAL COUNSEL                                          H.B. 341
Approved for Filing: R. Bailey 6                            2nd Sub. (Gray)
          6 03-01-24 2:52 PM 6
                         Senator Todd D. Weiler proposes the following substitute bill:
                            SCHOOL CLOSURE AMENDMENTS
                                      2024 GENERAL SESSION
                                           STATE OF UTAH
                                Chief Sponsor: Brady Brammer
                                Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble
 6
 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill amends processes for school closures or school boundary changes.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < defines a term;
        < requires a local school board, before closing a school or changing the boundaries of
 a school, to make a motion to notify the affected students' parents of a school
 closure or boundary change;
        < allows the local school board, after a public hearing, to vote on the school closure or
 school boundary change;
        < requires the local school board to complete the school closure or school boundary
 change or process on or before a certain date;
        < allows parents of students affected by boundary changes to request enrollment             2nd Sub. H.B. 341
 within a certain time after the boundary change takes effect; and
        < makes technical and conforming changes.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
     *HB0341S02*
       2nd Sub. (Gray) H.B. 341                                                     03-01-24 2:52 PM
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        53G-4-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapters 16, 252, 343, 352, and
 435
        53G-6-402, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 44
32
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 53G-4-402 is amended to read:
        53G-4-402. Powers and duties generally.
        (1) A local school board shall:
        (a) implement the core standards for Utah public schools using instructional materials
 that best correlate to the core standards for Utah public schools and graduation requirements;
        (b) administer tests, required by the state board, which measure the progress of each
 student, and coordinate with the state superintendent and state board to assess results and create
 plans to improve the student's progress, which shall be submitted to the state board for
 approval;
        (c) use progress-based assessments as part of a plan to identify schools, teachers, and
 students that need remediation and determine the type and amount of federal, state, and local
 resources to implement remediation;
        (d) for each grading period and for each course in which a student is enrolled, issue a
 grade or performance report to the student:
        (i) that reflects the student's work, including the student's progress based on mastery,
 for the grading period; and
        (ii) in accordance with the local school board's adopted grading or performance
 standards and criteria;
        (e) develop early warning systems for students or classes failing to make progress;
        (f) work with the state board to establish a library of documented best practices,
 consistent with state and federal regulations, for use by the special districts;
        (g) implement training programs for school administrators, including basic
 management training, best practices in instructional methods, budget training, staff
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       03-01-24 2:52 PM                                                     2nd Sub. (Gray) H.B. 341
 management, managing for learning results and continuous improvement, and how to help
 every [child] student achieve optimal learning in basic academic subjects; and
            (h) ensure that the local school board meets the data collection and reporting standards
 described in Section 53E-3-501.
            (2) Local school boards shall spend Minimum School Program funds for programs and
 activities for which the state board has established minimum standards or rules under Section
 53E-3-501.
            (3) (a) A local school board may purchase, sell, and make improvements on school
 sites, buildings, and equipment, and construct, erect, and furnish school buildings.
            (b) School sites or buildings may only be conveyed or sold on local school board
 resolution affirmed by at least two-thirds of the school board members.
            (4) (a) A local school board may participate in the joint construction or operation of a
 school attended by students residing within the district and students residing in other districts
 either within or outside the state.
            (b) Any agreement for the joint operation or construction of a school shall:
            (i) be signed by the president of the local school board of each participating district;
            (ii) include a mutually agreed upon pro rata cost; and
            (iii) be filed with the state board.
            (5) A local school board may establish, locate, and maintain elementary, secondary,
 and applied technology schools.
            (6) A local school board may enter into cooperative agreements with other local school
 boards to provide educational services that best utilize resources for the overall operation of the
 school districts, including shared transportation services.
            (7) [An] A local school board shall ensure that an agreement under Subsection (6)
 [shall]:
            (a) [be] is signed by the president of the local school board of each participating
 district;
            (b) [specify] specifies the resource being shared;
            (c) [include] includes a mutually agreed upon pro rata cost;
            (d) [include] includes the duration of the agreement; and
            (e) [be] is filed with the state board.
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       2nd Sub. (Gray) H.B. 341                                                        03-01-24 2:52 PM
           (8) Except as provided in Section 53E-3-905, a local school board may enroll children
 in school who are at least five years old before September 2 of the year in which admission is
 sought.
           (9) A local school board:
           (a) may establish and support school libraries; and
           (b) shall provide an online platform:
           (i) through which a parent is able to view the title, author, and a description of any
 material the parent's child borrows from the school library, including a history of borrowed
 materials, either using an existing online platform that the LEA uses or through a separate
 platform; and
           (ii) (A) for a school district with 1,000 or more enrolled students, no later than August
 1, 2024; and
           (B) for a school district with fewer than 1,000 enrolled students, no later than August
 1, 2026.
           (10) A local school board may collect damages for the loss, injury, or destruction of
 school property.
           (11) A local school board may authorize guidance and counseling services for students
 and the student's parents before, during, or following school enrollment.
           (12) (a) A local school board shall administer and implement federal educational
 programs in accordance with Title 53E, Chapter 3, Part 8, Implementing Federal or National
 Education Programs.
           (b) Federal funds are not considered funds within the school district budget under
 Chapter 7, Part 3, Budgets.
           (13) (a) A local school board may organize school safety patrols and adopt policies
 under which the patrols promote student safety.
           (b) A student appointed to a safety patrol shall be at least 10 years old and have written
 parental consent for the appointment.
           (c) Safety patrol members may not direct vehicular traffic or be stationed in a portion
 of a highway intended for vehicular traffic use.
           (d) Liability may not attach to a school district, its employees, officers, or agents, or to
 a safety patrol member, a parent of a safety patrol member, or an authorized volunteer assisting
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        03-01-24 2:52 PM                                                    2nd Sub. (Gray) H.B. 341
 the program by virtue of the organization, maintenance, or operation of a school safety patrol.
           (14) (a) A local school board may on its own behalf, or on behalf of an educational
 institution for which the local school board is the direct governing body, accept private grants,
 loans, gifts, endowments, devises, or bequests that are made for educational purposes.
           (b) The contributions made under Subsection (14)(a) are not subject to appropriation
 by the Legislature.
           (15) (a) A local school board may appoint and fix the compensation of a compliance
 officer to issue citations for violations of Subsection 76-10-105(2)(b).
           (b) A person may not be appointed to serve as a compliance officer without the
 person's consent.
           (c) A teacher or student may not be appointed as a compliance officer.
           (16) A local school board shall adopt bylaws and policies for the local school board's
 own procedures.
           (17) (a) A local school board shall make and enforce policies necessary for the control
 and management of the district schools.
           (b) Local school board policies shall be in writing, filed, and referenced for public
 access.
           (18) A local school board may hold school on legal holidays other than Sundays.
           (19) (a) A local school board shall establish for each school year a school traffic safety
 committee to implement this Subsection (19).
           (b) The committee shall be composed of one representative of:
           (i) the schools within the district;
           (ii) the Parent Teachers' Association of the schools within the district;
           (iii) the municipality or county;
           (iv) state or local law enforcement; and
           (v) state or local traffic safety engineering.
           (c) The committee shall:
           (i) receive suggestions from school community councils, parents, teachers, and others,
 and recommend school traffic safety improvements, boundary changes to enhance safety, and
 school traffic safety program measures;
           (ii) review and submit annually to the Department of Transportation and affected
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        2nd Sub. (Gray) H.B. 341                                                       03-01-24 2:52 PM
 municipalities and counties a child access routing plan for each elementary, middle, and junior
 high school within the district;
           (iii) [consult] in consultation with the Utah Safety Council and the Division of Family
 Health Services [and], provide training to all students in kindergarten through grade 6, within
 the district, on school crossing safety and use; and
           (iv) help ensure the district's compliance with rules made by the Department of
 Transportation under Section 41-6a-303.
           (d) The committee may establish subcommittees as needed to assist in accomplishing
 the committee's duties under Subsection (19)(c).
           (20) (a) A local school board shall adopt and implement a comprehensive emergency
 response plan to prevent and combat violence in the local school board's public schools, on
 school grounds, on [its] school vehicles, and in connection with school-related activities or
 events.
           (b) The local school board shall ensure that the plan [shall]:
           (i) [include] includes prevention, intervention, and response components;
           (ii) [be] is consistent with the [student conduct and discipline] school discipline and
 conduct policies required for school districts under [Chapter 11, Part 2, Miscellaneous
 Requirements] Chapter 8, Part 2, School Discipline and Conduct Plans;
           (iii) [require] requires professional learning for all district and school building staff on
 the staff's roles in the emergency response plan;
           (iv) [provide] provides for coordination with local law enforcement and other public
 safety representatives in preventing, intervening, and responding to violence in the areas and
 activities referred to in Subsection (20)(a); and
           (v) [include] includes procedures to notify a student who is off campus at the time of a
 school violence emergency because the student is:
           (A) participating in a school-related activity; or
           (B) excused from school for a period of time during the regular school day to
 participate in religious instruction at the request of the student's parent.
           (c) The state board, through the state superintendent, shall develop comprehensive
 emergency response plan models that local school boards may use, where appropriate, to
 comply with Subsection (20)(a).
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        03-01-24 2:52 PM                                                  2nd Sub. (Gray) H.B. 341
        (d) A local school board shall, by July 1 of each year, certify to the state board that its
 plan has been practiced at the school level and presented to and reviewed by its teachers,
 administrators, students, and the student's parents and local law enforcement and public safety
 representatives.
        (21) (a) A local school board may adopt an emergency response plan for the treatment
 of sports-related injuries that occur during school sports practices and events.
        (b) The plan may be implemented by each secondary school in the district that has a
 sports program for students.
        (c) The plan may:
        (i) include emergency personnel, emergency communication, and emergency
 equipment components;
        (ii) require professional learning on the emergency response plan for school personnel
 who are involved in sports programs in the district's secondary schools; and
        (iii) provide for coordination with individuals and agency representatives who:
        (A) are not employees of the school district; and
        (B) would be involved in providing emergency services to students injured while
 participating in sports events.
        (d) The local school board, in collaboration with the schools referred to in Subsection
 (21)(b), may review the plan each year and make revisions when required to improve or
 enhance the plan.
        (e) The state board, through the state superintendent, shall provide local school boards
 with an emergency plan response model that local school boards may use to comply with the
 requirements of this Subsection (21).
        (22) A local school board shall do all other things necessary for the maintenance,
 prosperity, and success of the schools and the promotion of education.
        (23) (a) As used in this subsection, "special enrollment program" means a full-day
 academic program in which a parent opts to enroll the parent's student and that is offered at a
 specifically designated school within an LEA, including:
        (i) gifted or advanced learning programs; or
        (ii) dual language immersion programs.
        (b) Before closing a school [or], changing the boundaries of a school, or changing or
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        2nd Sub. (Gray) H.B. 341                                                   03-01-24 2:52 PM
 closing the location of a special enrollment program, a local school board shall:
         (i) at a local school board meeting, make and approve a motion to initiate the
 notification required under Subsections (23)(b)(ii) through (iv);
         [(i)] (ii) at least 90 days before [approving] the day on which the local school board
 approves the school closure or at least 30 days before the day on which the local school board
 approves a school boundary change, provide notice that the local school board is considering
 the closure or boundary change to:
         (A) parents of students enrolled in the school, using the same form of communication
 the local school board regularly uses to communicate with parents and also by mail, using the
 United States Postal Service, to the parents at each known address;
         (B) parents of students enrolled in other schools within the school district that may be
 affected by the closure or boundary change, using the same form of communication the local
 school board regularly uses to communicate with parents and also by mail, using the United
 States Postal Service, to the parents at each known address; and
         (C) the governing council and the mayor of the municipality in which the school is
 located;
         [(ii)] (iii) provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposed school closure
 [or school boundary change] during at least two public local school board meetings; [and]
         [(iii)] (iv) provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposed school boundary
 change during one public local school board meeting; and
         (v) hold a public hearing as defined in Section 10-9a-103 and provide public notice of
 the public hearing as des