Higher Education Student Belief Accommodation

24
53H-7-903
53H-7-903
0
Higher Education Student Belief Accommodation
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Michael J. Petersen
Senate Sponsor: Brady Brammer
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill broadens a protection for a student's sincerely held religious and conscience beliefs.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
broadens the scope of a requirement for a reasonable accommodation regarding a
student's sincerely held religious and conscience beliefs;
requires certain notifications and a review process;
broadens the scope of policies that an institution of higher education establishes;
requires the Utah Board of Higher Education to adopt certain policies; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53H-7-903
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session,
Chapter 8
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
53H-7-903
is amended to read:
53H-7-903
. Student religious and conscience accommodations.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Conscience" means the same as that term is defined in Section
67-27-106
.
(b)
"Fundamental alteration" means a change so significant in an examination or
assignment that the change:
(i)
alters the essential nature, objectives, or standards of a class, program, or degree;
and
(ii)
negatively impacts the student's ability, as a neutral arbiter, whom the institution
designates under Subsection
(5)(f)
determines, to:
(A)
master essential learning outcomes of the course, program, or degree; or
(B)
acquire the knowledge, skills, or competencies necessary to pass the course,
program, or degree.
(c)
"Matter of public concern" means speech that relates to a political, social, religious,
moral, or community matter.
(d)
"Reasonably accommodate" means taking reasonable steps to modify expectations
for a student's participation in an examination or other academic requirement by:
(i)
excusing participation;
(ii)
offering an alternative deadline or schedule; or
(iii)
offering an alternative examination or assignment.
(1)
(2)
An
In accordance with Subsection
(3)
, an
institution shall
:
(a)
for any course
:
(a)
(i)
reasonably accommodate a student's absence from an examination or other
academic requirement under the circumstances described in Subsection
(2)
(3)

for reasons of:
(i)
(A)
the student's
faith
religious
or conscience
belief
; or
(ii)
(B)
the student's participation in an organized activity conducted under the
auspices of the student's religious tradition or religious organization; and
(b)
(ii)
ensure that an accommodation described in Subsection
(1)(a)
(2)(a)(i)
does
not adversely impact the student's academic opportunities
.
; and
(b)
for a course that the institution mandates for graduation or for an academic major,
reasonably accommodate a student's objection to a required examination or
assignment for reasons of the student's sincerely held religious or conscience belief if
the requested accommodation does not create a fundamental alteration.
(2)
(3)
An institution shall make an accommodation described in Subsection
(1)
(2)
if:
(a)
for an accommodation described in Subsection
(2)(a)
,
the time at which an
examination or academic requirement is scheduled to occur
creates an undue
hardship for a student due to
conflicts with
the student's sincerely held religious
or
conscience
belief; and
(b)
for any accommodation described in Subsection
(2)
,
the student provides a written

prior
notice to the instructor of the course for which the student seeks the
accommodation regarding
the date of the examination or academic requirement for
which the student seeks
the request for
the accommodation.
(4)
(a)
An instructor shall:
(i)
respond to a request for an accommodation as soon as practicable and in
accordance with institutional polices described in Subsection
(5)
; and
(ii)
if the instructor denies the request, notify the student and the institution of the
denial, including the reason for the denial, as soon as practicable and in
accordance with the institutional policies described in Subsection
(5)
.
(b)
An instructor may not compel a student to publicly take or communicate a specified
position on a matter of public concern as the student's own, including by requiring a
student to write a letter to a lawmaker, write a letter to an editor, write an article for
publication, publish an opinion online or on social media, or create or publish a
podcast.
(3)
(5)
An institution shall establish policies
and procedures, with guidance from the
board,
related to the accommodation described in Subsection
(1)
(2)
that:
(a)
require the institution to provide the accommodation with respect to
when the
student participates
the student's participation
in examinations and other academic
requirements;
(b)
allow an instructor who receives a notice described in Subsection
(2)(b)
(3)(b)
to:
(i)
schedule an alternative examination time before or after the regularly scheduled
examination; or
(ii)
make accommodations for other academic requirements related to the
accommodation;
and
(c)
require an instructor who receives a notice described in Subsection
(2)(b)
(3)(b)
to
keep confidential a student's request for the accommodation
.
, unless disclosure is
permitted by law;
(d)
address a reasonable timeframe within which:
(i)
a student must submit a request described in Subsection
(3)(b)
to an instructor; and
(ii)
an instructor must respond to a student's request described in Subsection
(3)(b)
;
(e)
outline a process by which an instructor shall, if the instructor denies the student's
request for an accommodation described in Subsection
(2)
:
(i)
notify the institution of the instructor's denial of the student's request; and
(ii)
provide to the institution a written explanation of why the instructor denied the
request; and
(f)
designate one or more neutral arbiters with the academic and subject matter expertise
necessary to review a denial described under Subsection
(5)(e)
and determine
whether the requested accommodation constitutes a fundamental alteration.
(4)
(6)
(a)
The commissioner shall annually:
(i)
(A)
create a list of the dates of religious holidays for the following two years;
and
(ii)
(B)
distribute the list described in
this
Subsection
(4)(a)
(6)(a)(i)
to an
institution
.
; and
(ii)
upon the request of the Education Interim Committee, ensure the inclusion of
information institutions report under Subsection
(7)(c)
in an annual report to the
Legislature described in Section
53H-1-403
.
(b)
The creation and distribution of the list described in Subsection
(4)(a)
(6)(a)(i)
does
not prohibit a student from seeking, or an institution from granting, an
accommodation for a date of a religious holiday that is not included on that list.
(5)
(7)
An institution shall:
(a)
designate a point of contact for information about an accommodation described in
Subsection
(1)
(2)
, who may also serve as the neutral arbiter described in Subsection
(5)(f)
;
(b)
establish a process by which a student may submit a grievance with regards to
implementation of this section; and
(c)
(b)
publish the following information on the institution's website and update the
information annually:
(i)
the institution's religious
and conscience belief
accommodation policies described
in Subsection
(3)
(5)
;
(ii)
the point of contact described in Subsection
(5)(a)
(7)(a)
;
(iii)
the list described in Subsection
(4)
(6)(a)
;
(iv)
a description of the general procedure to request an accommodation described in
Subsection
(1)
(2)
; and
(v)
the grievance process described in Subsection
(5)(b).
(5)(f)
;
(c)
submit an annual report to the board, no later than December 1 of each year,
detailing, for the previous academic year, any neutral arbiter decisions under
Subsection
(5)
; and
(d)
no later than December 1, 2026, report to the board the institutional policies the
institution creates in accordance with Subsection
(5)
.
(8)
The board shall:
(a)
establish policies to ensure the protection of students' sincerely held religious and
conscience beliefs; and
(b)
provide guidelines for the institution policies described in Subsection
(5)
, including
parameters for the accommodations described in this section and guidance for
protecting a student's sincerely held religious and conscience beliefs.
(9)
Nothing in this section interferes with federal law.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
3-12-26 8:08 AM