Legislative Bills

Primary tabs

HB0278 | School Board Election Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill amends provisions relating to the State Board of Education.

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill makes the office of State Board of Education member a nonpartisan office.

Bill Details
Year: 
2026
Status: 
House/ filed
Last Action: 
Mar 06, 2026
Sponsor
Representative
Democrat - District 41
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

This change would make the Utah State Board of Education a non-partisan office, which would help make education decisions non-partisan.

Commission: 
Education
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

Resolved, That Utah PTA support legislation which enacts direct, nonpartisan election of State School Board members and opposes partisan election of the same body.

HB0281S03 | Health Curriculum and Procedures Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill amends provisions regarding health instruction and physical and mental health procedures in the public education system.

Highlighted Provisions: 

1) Requires the Utah Education and Telehealth Network and any health care provider to
obtain written parental consent before providing or facilitating telehealth or another
health care service to a student within a public school;
2) Establishes requirements for in-school mental health therapy, including:
a) Identifying who may and may not provide in-school mental health therapy; and
b) Requiring parental consent and certain parental notification;
5) Ensures that a local or state rule or policy does not create an exemption for otherwise
prohibited endorsement, promotion, or disparagement of a certain religious belief or
viewpoint;

Bill Details
Year: 
2025
Status: 
House/ to Governor
Last Action: 
Mar 17, 2025
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 50
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

Clarifies mental health services provided in schools and the consent process

Commission: 
Health
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

That Utah PTA and its constituent associations advocate for programs, policies, and legislation which provide adequate training and resources for recognizing and helping children with emotional and behavioral problemsand improving the training of primary care physicians in mental illness assessment and treatment;

HB0282 | Child Care Center Sales Tax Exemption

Description
General Description: 

This bill enacts a sales and use tax exemption related to certain child care programs.

Highlighted Provisions: 

Exempts from sales and use tax amounts paid or charged for construction materials used to open or expand a child care program

Bill Details
Year: 
2023
Status: 
House/ filed
Last Action: 
Mar 03, 2023
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 67
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Utah PTA Resolution: 
Impact on Children: 

Exempting a child care center's construction costs from sales tax might encourage growth which would create more options for Utah families looking for child care.

Commission: 
Community Engagement
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

That Utah PTA encourage more public and private efforts to provide after-school care

Utah PTA Legislative Policy: 

Coordination and planning by all agencies with clear definition of responsibility at each level of government

HB0284S01 | Public Library Background Check Requirements

Description
General Description: 

This bill provides for criminal background checks of public library employees.

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill provides for criminal background checks of public library employees. It would require current and prospective employees of the public library in any employment
position that involves significant contact with minors to submit to a criminal background check as a condition of employment;

Bill Details
Year: 
2023
Status: 
Governor Signed
Last Action: 
Mar 14, 2023
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 3
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

This bill provides for criminal background checks of public library employees. It would require current and prospective employees of the public library in any employment position that involves significant contact with minors to submit to a criminal background check as a condition of employment;

Commission: 
Community Engagement
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

That Utah PTA and its constituent associations advocate for adequate laws to protect children in all areas of child abuse, neglect, maltreatment, and exploitation

Utah PTA Legislative Policy: 

High standards for those who work in all areas concerned with children and youth

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities: 

Support evidence-based community violence intervention and means reduction strategies

HB0286S01 | Artificial Intelligence Transparency Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill enacts the AI Transparency Act relating to transparency and whistleblower protections for frontier artificial intelligence models.

Highlighted Provisions: 

Because children increasingly use AI tools (like chatbots and recommendation systems), the bill aims to make sure companies think carefully about how their products affect kids and disclose what they’re doing to protect them. Supporters highlight that transparency could help prevent AI from producing harmful content or advice that could confuse, mislead, or negatively influence young users.

Bill Details
Year: 
2026
Status: 
House/ filed
Last Action: 
Mar 06, 2026
Sponsor
Representative
Republican - District 48
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

Because children increasingly use AI tools (like chatbots and recommendation systems), the bill aims to make sure companies think carefully about how their products affect kids and disclose what they’re doing to protect them. Supporters highlight that transparency could help prevent AI from producing harmful content or advice that could confuse, mislead, or negatively influence young users.

Commission: 
Safety
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

That Utah PTA and its constituent associations assist schools, community councils, parents and students in learning safe and responsible digital wellness and citizen behaviors through trainings, consultation, and distribution of resources; and be it furtherResolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations work with legislators, state and local school boards, and school community councils to establish appropriate social media policies and discipline measures in regards to, but not limited to, cyberbullying, sexting, and hazing and be it furtherResolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations advocate for laws, policies, and technology development which protects children and youth from surveillance capitalism, persuasive technology, and algorithmswhich encourage addictive usage of social media, and be it furtherResolved, That Utah PTA and its constituent associations support lawmakers in their efforts to create laws which call for appropriate social media policies that protect children and provide parents the ability to know what their child is engaged in, who they are engaging with and how much time they are engaging online, in order to empower parents to make the best decisions for their children and families.