HB0526 • 2026

Student Welfare Check Amendments

Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Rep. Welton, Doug
Last action: 2026-03-06
Official status: House/ filed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Student Welfare Check Amendments

This bill addresses student welfare checks for students with unknown whereabouts.

What This Bill Does

This bill addresses student welfare checks for students with unknown whereabouts.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-03-06 House file for bills not passed
House/ filed
2026-03-06 Clerk of the House
House/ strike enacting clause
2026-02-12 House Rules Committee
House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
2026-02-12 Released
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0526
2026-02-11 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0526
2026-02-09 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Bill Numbered but not Distributed
2026-02-09 House Rules Committee
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-02-09 Clerk of the House
House/ received bill from Legislative Research
2026-02-09 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0526
2026-02-09 Legislative Fiscal Agency
LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0526
2026-02-09 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed

Official Summary Text

This bill addresses student welfare checks for students with unknown whereabouts.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

3
53G-6-214
0
Student Welfare Check Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Doug Welton
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses student welfare checks for students with unknown whereabouts.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
requires an LEA to refer a student for a welfare check under certain circumstances; and
provides that a welfare check referral does not preclude or obligate other actions.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
53G-6-214
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
53G-6-214
is enacted to read:
53G-6-214
. Student welfare check referrals -- Unknown whereabouts.
(1)
An LEA shall make a referral for a student welfare check if a student has been absent
for 10 or more consecutive school days and all of the following conditions are met:
(a)
the student's parent has failed to notify the school of the student's absence;
(b)
the student's parent has not filed a home school affidavit under Section
53G-6-204
;
(c)
the student's parent has not provided notice of unenrollment to the LEA;
(d)
the student's parent has failed to respond to repeated communications from the
school, including communications through email, telephone, text message, postal
mail, or other reasonable methods; and
(e)
one of the following is true:
(i)
the LEA has not received a request for student records from another educational
entity; or
(ii)
there is no record of the student being enrolled in another LEA.
(2)
An LEA shall make a referral described in Subsection
(1)
to:
(a)
local law enforcement; or
(b)
the Division of Child and Family Services.
(3)
A referral under this section is for the purpose of conducting a welfare check to verify
the student's safety and well-being.
(4)
This section does not preclude or obligate any other action under this part or Title 80,
Chapter 3, Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Proceedings.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-9-26 12:01 PM