Public Education Financial Officers

6
53E-3-301
53G-4-302
53G-4-303
0
Public Education Financial Officers
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: R. Neil Walter
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions regarding state and local financial officers in the public
education system.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
provides that a school district business administrator:
is an at-will employee; and
reports directly to the school district superintendent;
provides that the Deputy Superintendent of Operations reports directly to the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53E-3-301
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 277
53G-4-302
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
53G-4-303
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 293
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
53E-3-301
is amended to read:
53E-3-301
. Appointment -- Qualifications -- Duties.
(1)
(a)
The state board shall appoint a state superintendent of public instruction, who is
the executive officer of the state board and serves at the pleasure of the state board.
(b)
The state board shall appoint the state superintendent on the basis of outstanding
professional qualifications.
(c)
The state superintendent shall administer all programs assigned to the state board in
accordance with the policies and the standards established by the state board.
(2)
The state board shall, with the state superintendent, develop a statewide education
strategy focusing on core academics, including the development of:
(a)
core standards for Utah public schools and graduation requirements;
(b)
a process to select model instructional materials that best correlate with the core
standards for Utah public schools and graduation requirements that are supported by
generally accepted scientific standards of evidence;
(c)
professional development programs for teachers, superintendents, and principals;
(d)
model remediation programs;
(e)
a model method for creating individual student learning targets, and a method of
measuring an individual student's performance toward those targets;
(f)
progress-based assessments for ongoing performance evaluations of school districts
and schools;
(g)
incentives to achieve the desired outcome of individual student progress in core
academics that do not create disincentives for setting high goals for the students;
(h)
an annual report card for school and school district performance, measuring learning
and reporting progress-based assessments;
(i)
a systematic method to encourage innovation in schools and school districts as each
strives to achieve improvement in performance; and
(j)
a method for identifying and sharing best demonstrated practices across school
districts and schools.
(3)
The state superintendent shall perform duties assigned by the state board, including:
(a)
investigating all matters pertaining to the public schools;
(b)
adopting and keeping an official seal to authenticate the state superintendent's
official acts;
(c)
holding and conducting meetings, seminars, and conferences on educational topics;
(d)
collecting and organizing education data into an automated decision support system
to facilitate school district and school improvement planning, accountability
reporting, performance recognition, and the evaluation of educational policy and
program effectiveness to include:
(i)
data that are:
(A)
comparable across schools and school districts;
(B)
appropriate for use in longitudinal studies; and
(C)
comprehensive with regard to the data elements required under applicable
state or federal law or state board rule;
(ii)
features that enable users, most particularly school administrators, teachers, and
parents, to:
(A)
retrieve school and school district level data electronically;
(B)
interpret the data visually; and
(C)
draw conclusions that are statistically valid; and
(iii)
procedures for the collection and management of education data that:
(A)
require the state superintendent to:
(I)
collaborate with school districts and charter schools in designing and
implementing uniform data standards and definitions;
(II)
undertake or sponsor research to implement improved methods for
analyzing education data;
(III)
provide for data security to prevent unauthorized access to or
contamination of the data; and
(IV)
protect the confidentiality of data under state and federal privacy laws; and
(B)
require all school districts and schools to comply with the data collection and
management procedures established under this Subsection
(3)(d)
;
(e)
administering and implementing federal educational programs in accordance with
Part 8, Implementing Federal or National Education Programs
; and
(f)
with the approval of the state board, preparing and submitting to the governor a
budget for the state board to be included in the budget that the governor submits to
the Legislature.
(4)
The Deputy Superintendent of Operations shall report directly to the state
superintendent.
(4)
(5)
Upon leaving office, the state superintendent shall deliver to the state
superintendent's successor all books, records, documents, maps, reports, papers, and
other articles pertaining to the state superintendent's office.
Section 2. Section
53G-4-302
is amended to read:
53G-4-302
. Business administrator -- Term -- Oath.
(1)
Subject to Subsection
(5)
, a local school board shall appoint a business administrator.
(2)
(a)
The business
administrator's term of office is for two years and until, subject to
Subsection
(5)
, a successor is appointed and qualified
administrator is an at-will
employee who serves at the will of the local school board
.
(b)
A local school board that appoints a business administrator in accordance with this
section may not, on or after May 8, 2012, enter into an employment contract that
contains an automatic renewal provision with the business administrator.
(3)
Unless a vacancy occurs during an interim vacancy period subject to Subsection
(5)
, if it
becomes necessary to appoint an interim business manager due to a vacancy in the office
of business administrator, then the local school board shall make an appointment during
a public meeting for an indefinite term not to exceed one year, which term shall end
upon the appointment and qualification of a new business manager.
(4)
The business administrator qualifies for office by taking the constitutional oath of office.
(5)
(a)
As used in this Subsection
(5)
, "interim vacancy period" means the period of time
that:
(i)
begins on the day on which a general election described in Section
20A-1-202
is
held to elect a member of a local school board; and
(ii)
ends on the day on which the member-elect begins the member's term.
(b)
(i)
A local school board may not appoint a business administrator during an
interim vacancy period.
(ii)
Notwithstanding Subsection
(5)(b)(i)
:
(A)
the local school board may appoint an interim business administrator during
an interim vacancy period; and
(B)
the interim business administrator's term shall expire once a new business
administrator is appointed by the new local school board after the interim
vacancy period has ended.
(c)
Subsection
(5)(b)
does not apply if all the local school board members who held
office on the day of the general election whose term of office was vacant for the
election are reelected to the local school board for the following term.
Section 3. Section
53G-4-303
is amended to read:
53G-4-303
. Duties of business administrator.
(1)
A district's business administrator shall report directly to the district superintendent of
schools.
(2)
Subject to the direction of the district superintendent of schools, the district's
business administrator shall:
(1)
(a)
attend all meetings of the local school board, keep an accurate record of its
proceedings, and have custody of the seal and records;
(2)
(b)
be custodian of all district funds, be responsible and accountable for all money
received and disbursed, and keep accurate records of all revenues received and their
sources;
(3)
(c)
countersign with the president of the local school board all warrants and claims
against the district as well as other legal documents approved by the local school
board;
(4)
(d)
prepare and submit to the local school board each month a written report of the
district's receipts and expenditures;
(5)
(e)
use uniform budgeting, accounting, and auditing procedures and forms approved
by the state board, which shall be in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles or auditing standards and
Title 63J, Chapter 1, Budgetary Procedures Act
;
(6)
(f)
prepare and submit to the local school board a detailed annual statement for the
period ending June 30, of the revenue and expenditures, including beginning and
ending fund balances;
(7)
(g)
assist the superintendent in the preparation and submission of budget documents
and statistical and fiscal reports required by law or the state board;
(8)
(h)
insure that adequate internal controls are in place to safeguard the district's
funds; and
(9)
(i)
perform other duties as the superintendent may require.
Section 4.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-9-26 11:52 AM