Teaching Materials Amendments

7
53G-10-103
0
Teaching Materials Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Carol S. Moss
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill exempts certain courses from requirements regarding the instructional material for
those courses.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
amends a definition to add certain course material as exempt from sensitive material
requirements when a parent gives consent.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53G-10-103
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 173
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
53G-10-103
is amended to read:
53G-10-103
. Sensitive instructional materials.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
(i)
"Instructional material" means a material, regardless of format, used:
(A)
as or in place of textbooks to deliver curriculum within the state curriculum
framework for courses of study by students; or
(B)
to support a student's learning in any school setting.
(ii)
"Instructional material" includes reading materials, handouts, videos, digital
materials, websites, online applications, and live presentations.
(iii)
"Instructional material" does not mean exclusively library materials.
(b)
"LEA governing board" means:
(i)
for a school district, the local school board;
(ii)
for a charter school, the charter school governing board; or
(iii)
for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, the state board.
(c)
"Material" means the same as that term is defined in Section
76-5c-101
.
(d)
"Minor" means any person less than 18 years old.
(e)
"Objective sensitive material" means an instructional material that constitutes
pornographic or indecent material, as that term is defined in Section
76-5c-208
, under
the non-discretionary standards described in Subsections
76-5c-207(1)(a)(i)
(A), (B),
or (C).
(f)
"Public school" means:
(i)
a district school;
(ii)
a charter school; or
(iii)
the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(g)
(i)
"School setting" means, for a public school:
(A)
in a classroom;
(B)
in a school library; or
(C)
on school property.
(ii)
"School setting" includes the following activities that an organization or
individual or organization outside of a public school conducts, if a public school
or an LEA sponsors or requires the activity:
(A)
an assembly;
(B)
a guest lecture;
(C)
a live presentation; or
(D)
an event.
(h)
(i)
"Sensitive material" means an instructional material that constitutes objective
sensitive material or subjective sensitive material.
(ii)
"Sensitive material" does not include an instructional material:
(A)
that an LEA selects under Section
53G-10-402
;
(B)
for a concurrent enrollment course
, Advanced Placement course, or
International Baccalaureate course
that contains sensitive material and for
which a parent receives notice from the course provider of the material before
enrollment of the parent's child and gives the parent's consent by enrolling the
parent's child;
(C)
for medical courses;
(D)
for family and consumer science courses; or
(E)
for another course the state board exempts in state board rule.
(iii)
"Subjective sensitive material" means an instructional material that constitutes
pornographic or indecent material, as that term is defined in Section
76-5c-208
,
under the following factor-balancing standards:
(A)
material that is harmful to minors under Section
76-5c-101
;
(B)
material that is pornographic under Section
76-5c-101
; or
(C)
material that includes certain fondling or other erotic touching under
Subsection
76-5c-207(1)(a)(i)(D)
.
(2)
(a)
Sensitive materials are prohibited in the school setting.
(b)
A public school or an LEA may not:
(i)
adopt, use, distribute, provide a student access to, or maintain in the school setting,
sensitive materials; or
(ii)
permit a speaker or presenter in the school setting to display or distribute
sensitive materials.
(c)
In evaluating, selecting, or otherwise considering action related to a given
instructional material under this section, each public school and each LEA shall
prioritize protecting children from the harmful effects of illicit pornography over
other considerations in evaluating instructional material.
(d)
If an instructional material constitutes objective sensitive material:
(i)
a public school or an LEA is not required to engage in a review under a subjective
sensitive material standard; and
(ii)
the outcome of a subjective sensitive material evaluation has no bearing on the
non-discretionary objective sensitive material conclusion.
(3)
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
, the following individuals may initiate a
sensitive material review under this section:
(i)
an employee of the relevant LEA;
(ii)
a student who is enrolled in the relevant LEA;
(iii)
a parent of a child who is enrolled in the relevant LEA; or
(iv)
a member of the relevant LEA governing board.
(b)
(i)
As used in this Subsection
(3)(b)
, "unsuccessful challenge" means an allegation
that a given instructional material constitutes sensitive material that the LEA
concludes to be erroneous, either on direct review or on appeal to the LEA
governing board, resulting in the retention of the given instructional material.
(ii)
Notwithstanding Subsection
(3)(a)
, after an individual makes three unsuccessful
challenges during a given academic year, the individual may not trigger a
sensitive material review under this section during the remainder of the given
academic year.
(4)
Upon receipt of an allegation from an individual described in Subsection
(3)(a)
, an LEA
shall:
(a)
(i)
make an initial determination as to whether the allegation presents a plausible
claim that the challenged instructional material constitutes sensitive material,
including whether the allegation includes excerpts and other evidence to support
the allegation; and
(ii)
if the LEA determines that the allegation presents a plausible claim that the
challenged instructional material constitutes sensitive material under Subsection
(4)(a)(i)
, immediately remove the challenged material from any school setting that
provides student access to the challenged material until the LEA completes the
LEA's full review of the challenged material under this section;
(b)
(i)
engage in a review of the allegations and the challenged instructional material
using the objective sensitive material standards; and
(ii)
if the LEA makes a determination that the challenged instructional material
constitutes objective sensitive material, ensure that the material remains
inaccessible to students in any school setting;
(c)
only if the LEA makes a determination that the challenged instructional material
does not constitute objective sensitive material:
(i)
review the allegations and the challenged instructional material under the
subjective material standards, ensuring that the review includes parents who are
reflective of the members of the school's community when determining if an
instructional material is subjective sensitive material;
(ii)
allow student access to the challenged instructional material during the LEA's
subjective sensitive material review if the student's parent gives consent regarding
the specific challenged instructional material; and
(iii)
if the LEA makes a determination that the challenged instructional material
constitutes subjective sensitive material, ensure that the material is inaccessible to
students in any school setting, including the termination of the parent consent
option described in Subsection
(4)(c)(ii)
; and
(d)
communicate to the state board the allegation and the LEA's final determination
regarding the allegation and the challenged instructional material.
(5)
(a)
An individual described in Subsection
(3)(a)
may appeal an LEA's decision
regarding a sensitive material review, regardless of whether the LEA removed or
retained the challenged instructional material, to the LEA governing board.
(b)
An LEA governing board shall vote in a public board meeting to decide the outcome
of a sensitive material review appeal, clearly identifying:
(i)
the board's rationale for the decision; and
(ii)
the board's determination on each component of the statutory and any additional
policy standards the board uses to reach the board's conclusions.
(6)
An LEA governing board may not enact rules or policies that prevent the LEA
governing board from:
(a)
revisiting a previous decision;
(b)
reviewing a recommendation of LEA personnel or a parent-related committee
regarding a challenged instructional material; or
(c)
reconsidering a challenged instructional material if the LEA governing board
receives additional information regarding the material.
(7)
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection
(7)(d)
, if the threshold described in Subsection
(7)(b)
is met, each LEA statewide shall remove the relevant instructional material
from student access.
(b)
The requirement described in Subsection
(7)(a)
to remove a given material from
student access applies if the following number of LEAs makes a determination that a
given instructional material constitutes objective sensitive material:
(i)
at least three school districts; or
(ii)
at least two school districts and five charter schools.
(c)
The state board shall:
(i)
aggregate allegations and LEA determinations described in Subsection
(4)(d)
; and
(ii)
no later than 10 school days after the day on which the condition described in
Subsection
(7)(b)
occurs, communicate to all LEAs the application of the
requirement described in Subsection
(7)(a)
to remove the material from student
access.
(d)
(i)
When the threshold described in Subsection
(7)(b)
is met for a given
instructional material, in addition to making the communication described in
Subsection
(7)(c)
, the state board may:
(A)
place the material on the agenda of a public board meeting within 60 days
after the day on which the state board makes the communication to LEAs
under Subsection
(7)(c)
; and
(B)
at the specified state board meeting, vote to overturn the application of the
requirement described in Subsection
(7)(a)
to remove a given material from
student access statewide.
(ii)
If the state board votes to overturn the application of the statewide removal
requirement described in Subsection
(7)(a)
under Subsection
(7)(d)(i)
:
(A)
the statewide removal requirement described in Subsection
(7)(a)
no longer
applies;
(B)
an LEA may choose to return the given material to student access; and
(C)
nothing affects the findings of an LEA governing board regarding removal of
the given material within the board's LEA.
(e)
This Subsection
(7)
applies to sensitive materials that LEAs remove from student
access, regardless of whether:
(i)
the sensitive material determinations occur in the same academic year; or
(ii)
a sensitive material determination occurred before July 1, 2024.
(8)
The state board shall:
(a)
in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, provide guidance and
training to support public schools in identifying instructional materials that meet the
definition of sensitive materials under this section;
(b)
establish a process through which an individual described in Subsection
(3)(a)
may
report to the state board an allegation that an LEA is out of compliance with this
section; and
(c)
annually report to the Education Interim Committee, at or before the November
interim meeting, on implementation and compliance with this section, including:
(i)
any policy the state board or an LEA adopts to implement or comply with this
section;
(ii)
any rule the state board makes to implement or comply with this section; and
(iii)
any complaints an LEA or the state board receives regarding a violation of this
section, including:
(A)
action taken in response to a complaint described in this Subsection
(8)(c)(iii)
;
(B)
if an LEA retains an instructional material for which the LEA or the state
board receives a complaint, the LEA's rationale for retaining the instructional
material; and
(C)
compliance failures that the state board identifies through the reporting
process described in Subsection
(8)(b)
and other investigations or research.
(9)
The state shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless a person acting under color of state
law to enforce this section for any claims or damages, including court costs and attorney
fees, that:
(a)
a person brings or incurs as a result of this section; and
(b)
is not covered by the person's insurance policies or any coverage agreement that the
State Risk Management Fund issues.
(10)
Subject to prioritization of the Audit Subcommittee created in Section
36-12-8
, the
Office of the Legislative Auditor General shall:
(a)
conduct an audit of each school district's compliance with this section, ensuring the
completion of all school district audits before November 2028; and
(b)
annually report to the Education Interim Committee regarding completed sensitive
material audits under this Subsection
(10)
.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
July 1, 2026
.
1-6-26 1:00 PM