LEGISLATIVE GENERAL COUNSEL H.B. 138
6 Approved for Filing: M. Curtis 6 6th Sub. (Ivory)
6 02-22-23 11:00 AM 6
Representative Melissa G. Ballard proposes the following substitute bill:
1 SENSITIVE MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS
2 2023 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Melissa G. Ballard
5 Senate Sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill amends requirements and prohibitions regarding sensitive material within the
10 public school system.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 < defines terms;
14 < requires a local education agency (LEA) to:
15 C complete the LEA's review of instructional material that is alleged to violate
16 state law; and
17 C report instructional material that violates state law to the State Board of
18 Education (state board);
19 < requires the state board to engage in a review in certain circumstances involving
20 statewide curriculum or program materials; 6th Sub. H.B. 138
21 < provides for the the termination of contracts with vendors for instructional material
22 if the material includes sensitive material; and
23 < makes technical and conforming changes.
24 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
25 None
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26 Other Special Clauses:
27 This bill provides a special effective date.
28 Utah Code Sections Affected:
29 AMENDS:
30 53G-10-103, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 377
31 REPEALS:
32 53G-10-101, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
33
34 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
35 Section 1. Section 53G-10-103 is amended to read:
36 53G-10-103. Sensitive instructional materials.
37 (1) As used in this section:
38 (a) (i) "Instructional material" means a material, regardless of format, used:
39 (A) as or in place of textbooks to deliver curriculum within the state curriculum
40 framework for courses of study by students; or
41 (B) to support a student's learning in the school setting.
42 (ii) "Instructional material" includes reading materials, handouts, videos, digital
43 materials, websites, online applications, and live presentations.
44 (b) "LEA governing board" means:
45 (i) for a school district, the local school board;
46 (ii) for a charter school, the charter school governing board; or
47 (iii) for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, the state board.
48 (c) "Material" means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-10-1201.
49 (d) "Minor" means any person less than 18 years old.
50 (e) "Public school" means:
51 (i) a district school;
52 (ii) a charter school; or
53 (iii) the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
54 (f) (i) "School setting" means, for a public school:
55 (A) in a classroom;
56 (B) in a school library; or
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57 (C) on school property.
58 (ii) "School setting" includes the following activities that an organization or individual
59 or organization outside of a public school conducts, if a public school or an LEA sponsors or
60 requires the activity:
61 (A) an assembly;
62 (B) a guest lecture;
63 (C) a live presentation; or
64 (D) an event.
65 (g) (i) "Sensitive material" means an instructional material that is pornographic or
66 indecent material as that term is defined in Section 76-10-1235.
67 (ii) "Sensitive material" does not include an instructional material:
68 (A) that an LEA selects under Section 53G-10-402;
69 (B) for a concurrent enrollment course for which a parent receives advance notice of
70 the material;
71 [(B)] (C) for medical courses;
72 [(C)] (D) for family and consumer science courses; or
73 [(D)] (E) for another course the state board exempts in state board rule.
74 (h) "Vendor" means an entity with which the state board or an LEA contracts to
75 provide instructional material to students.
76 (2) (a) Sensitive materials are prohibited in the school setting.
77 (b) A public school may not:
78 (i) adopt, use, distribute, provide a student access to, or maintain in the school setting,
79 sensitive materials; or
80 (ii) permit a speaker or presenter in the school setting to display or distribute sensitive
81 materials.
82 (3) (a) A student, a student's parent, or an LEA employee may notify the relevant LEA
83 regarding any content in instructional material:
84 (i) that the individual:
85 (A) encounters through the LEA's curriculum or otherwise through the LEA; and
86 (B) alleges to be sensitive material; and
87 (ii) for which the individual provides documentation or evidence of the alleged
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88 sensitive material.
89 (b) Upon receipt of a notice described in Subsection (1)(a), an LEA shall make a
90 determination of whether the documentation or evidence described in Subsection (3)(a)(ii)
91 demonstrates a possibility that the material includes or constitutes sensitive material and, if the
92 LEA determines that the documentation or evidence demonstrates a possibility of sensitive
93 material:
94 (i) remove the instructional material from student access until the LEA completes the
95 LEA's sensitive material review process in accordance with the LEA's policies and this section;
96 (ii) if the material constitutes sensitive material:
97 (A) eliminate the chapter or section of the instructional material containing the
98 sensitive material from the LEA's curriculum or take other measures to mitigate the
99 accessibility and impact of the sensitive material;
100 (B) provide notice to any relevant vendor that the material violates state law; and
101 (C) report to the state board regarding the material; and
102 (iii) communicate to the individual who made the notice that triggered the LEA's
103 review, either directly or through the relevant principal, the outcome of the LEA's review,
104 including an explanation of the LEA's determination that the material does not constitute
105 sensitive material if the LEA chooses to maintain the availability of the material.
106 (c) No later than 60 school days after the day on which the state board receives an LEA
107 report described in Subsection (3)(b), if the material that is the subject of the report is part of
108 state curriculum or a program that the state board provides or oversees, the state board shall:
109 (i) complete a sensitive material review process in accordance with the state board's
110 policies and this section;
111 (ii) if the material constitutes sensitive material:
112 (A) eliminate the chapter or section of the instructional material containing the
113 sensitive material from the curriculum or program or take other measures to mitigate the
114 accessibility and impact of the sensitive material;
115 (B) provide notice to any relevant vendor that the material violates state law; and
116 (C) provide notice to LEAs regarding the sensitive material and the state board's
117 actions under this Subsection (3)(d); and
118 (iii) communicate to the individual who made the notice that triggered the underlying
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119 LEA review, either directly or through the relevant LEA, the outcome of the state board's
120 review, including an explanation of the state board's determination that the material does not
121 constitute sensitive material if the state board chooses to maintain the availability of the
122 material.
123 [(3)] (4) An LEA shall:
124 (a) first determine whether a challenged instructional material constitutes sensitive
125 material as a description or depiction of illicit sex or immorality that has no serious value for
126 minors as described in Section 76-10-1227;
127 (b) if the material does not constitute a violation described in Subsection (4)(a), include
128 parents who are reflective of the members of the school's community [when determining] to
129 determine if an instructional material is sensitive material using the standards described in
130 Section 76-10-1201 for material harmful to minors or Section 76-10-1203 for material that is
131 pornographic..
132 [(4)] (5) The state board shall:
133 (a) in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, provide guidance and
134 training to support public schools in identifying instructional materials that meet the definition
135 of sensitive materials under this section; and
136 (b) report to the Education Interim Committee and the Government Operations Interim
137 Committee, at or before the November 2022 interim meeting, on implementation and
138 compliance with this section, including:
139 (i) any policy the state board or an LEA adopts to implement or comply with this
140 section;
141 (ii) any rule the state board makes to implement or comply with this section; and
142 (iii) any complaints an LEA or the state board receives regarding a violation of this
143 section, including:
144 (A) action taken in response to a complaint described in this Subsection [(4)(b)(iii)]
145 (5)(b)(iii); and
146 (B) if an LEA retains an instructional material for which the LEA or the state board
147 receives a complaint, the LEA's rationale for retaining the instructional material.
148 (6) The state board may make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
149 Administrative Rulemaking Act, to establish procedures for the reporting of sensitive material
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150 violations under Subsections (3)(b) through (d).
151 (7) (a) The state board or an LEA may, without any penalty or any further financial
152 obligation, rescind or otherwise terminate a contract for a vendor to provide instructional
153 material into which the LEA or the state board enters on or after July 1, 2023, if:
154 (i) the state board or LEA governing board determines that the version of the
155 instructional material that is the subject of the notice described in Subsection (3)(a) is or
156 contains sensitive material; and
157 (ii) within 30 school days after the day on which the state board or LEA governing
158 board provide notice of the determination described in Subsection (7)(a)(i), the vendor fails to
159 eliminate the chapter or section of the instructional material containing the sensitive material or
160 otherwise remove access to the sensitive material.
161 (b) In any contract for a vendor to provide instructional material for which the parties
162 negotiate terms and into which the state board or an LEA enters after July 1, 2023, the state
163 board or relevant LEA shall ensure that the contract contains:
164 (i) notice provisions regarding the requirements and prohibitions regarding sensitive
165 material in this section; and
166 (ii) provisions requiring the vendor to notify the contracting LEA or state board of any
167 update, modification, or addition to the instructional material the vendor provides that may
168 contain or constitute sensitive material, including links to other material or websites from
169 within the instructional material.
170 (c) An LEA or the state board may remove a chapter or section of digital instructional
171 material that is found, through the processes described in this section, to contain sensitive
172 material from the relevant curriculum.
173 Section 2. Repealer.
174 This bill repeals:
175 Section 53G-10-101, Title.
176 Section 3. Effective date.
177 This bill takes effect on July 1, 2023.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 53G-10-102, 53G-10-103