Reintegration for Disciplined Students

13
53G-6-403
53G-6-604
53G-8-213
53G-8-403
63M-7-208
80-6-103
53G-6-403
53G-6-604
53G-8-213
53G-8-403
63M-7-208
80-6-103
0
Reintegration for Disciplined Students
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Daniel McCay
House Sponsor: Angela Romero
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions related to reintegration and enrollment of students with
disciplinary issues.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
modifies grounds for denying open enrollment applications;
modifies timelines and requirements for transferring student records;
modifies reintegration plan requirements for students who have committed serious
offenses;
requires local education agencies to digitally maintain and transfer certain student records;
modifies notification requirements when a minor is taken into temporary custody; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53G-6-403
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 293
53G-6-604
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 3
53G-8-213
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 348
53G-8-403
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 532
63M-7-208
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 240
80-6-103
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 173, 208
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
53G-6-403
is amended to read:
53G-6-403
. Policies for acceptance and rejection of applications.
(1)
(a)
A local school board shall adopt policies governing acceptance and rejection of
applications required under Section
53G-6-402
.
(b)
The policies adopted under Subsection
(1)(a)
shall include policies and procedures to
assure that decisions regarding enrollment requests are administered fairly without
prejudice to any student or class of student, except as provided in Subsection
(2)
.
(2)
Standards for accepting or rejecting an application for enrollment may include:
(a)
for an elementary school, the capacity of the grade level;
(b)
for a secondary school, the capacity of a comprehensive program;
(c)
maintenance of heterogeneous student populations if necessary to avoid violation of
constitutional or statutory rights of students;
(d)
not offering, or having capacity in, an elementary or secondary special education or
other special program the student requires;
(e)
maintenance of reduced class sizes:
(i)
in a Title I school that uses federal, state, and local money to reduce class sizes for
the purpose of improving student achievement; or
(ii)
in a school that uses school trust money to reduce class size;
(f)
willingness of prospective students to comply with district policies; and
(g)
giving priority to intradistrict transfers over interdistrict transfers.
(3)
(a)
Standards for accepting or rejecting applications for enrollment may not include:
(i)
previous academic achievement;
(ii)
athletic or other extracurricular ability;
(iii)
the fact that the student requires special education services for which space is
available;
(iv)
proficiency in the English language; or
(v)
previous disciplinary proceedings, except as provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
.
(b)
A local school board may provide for the denial of applications from students who:
(i)
have committed serious infractions of the law or school policies, including
policies of the district in which enrollment is sought;
or
(ii)
have been guilty of chronic misbehavior which would, if it were to continue after
the student was admitted:
(A)
endanger persons or property;
(B)
cause serious disruptions in the school; or
(C)
place unreasonable burdens on school staff
.
; or
(iii)
have any school safety incidents or safe-school violations.
(c)
A local school board may also provide for provisional enrollment of students with
prior behavior problems, establishing conditions under which enrollment of a
nonresident student would be permitted or continued.
(4)
(a)
The state board, in consultation with the Utah High School Activities Association,
shall establish policies regarding nonresident student participation in interscholastic
competition.
(b)
Nonresident students shall be eligible for extracurricular activities at a public school
consistent with eligibility standards as applied to students that reside within the
school attendance area, except as provided by policies established under Subsection
(4)(a)
.
(5)
For each school in the district, the local school board shall post on the school district's
website:
(a)
the school's maximum capacity;
(b)
the school's adjusted capacity;
(c)
the school's projected enrollment used in the calculation of the open enrollment
threshold;
(d)
actual enrollment on October 1, January 2, and April 1;
(e)
the number of nonresident student enrollment requests;
(f)
the number of nonresident student enrollment requests accepted; and
(g)
the number of resident students transferring to another school.
Section 2. Section
53G-6-604
is amended to read:
53G-6-604
. Requirement of school record for transfer of student -- Procedures.
(1)
Except as provided in Section
53E-3-905
, a school shall request a certified copy of a
transfer student's record, directly from the transfer student's previous school
, within 14
days after enrolling the transfer student
.
(2)
(a)
(i)
Except as provided in Subsection
(2)(b)
and Section
53E-3-905
, a school
requested to forward a certified copy of a transferring student's record to the new
school shall comply within
30
five
school days of the request.
(ii)
The student record shall include the student's discipline file including any
safe-school violation, reintegration, or threat assessment.
(b)
If the record has been flagged
pursuant to
in accordance with
Section
53G-6-602
, a
school may not forward the record to the new school and the requested school shall
notify the division of the request.
(c)
A school may not enroll a student unless the student record from the previous school
is received or the school administrator or designee reviews the data gateway for any
safe-school violation, reintegration, or threat assessment.
Section 3. Section
53G-8-213
is amended to read:
53G-8-213
. Reintegration plan for student alleged to have committed violent
felony or weapon offense.
(1)
As used in this section,

"multidisciplinary team" means:
(a)
the local education agency
or designee
;
(b)
the juvenile court
or designee
;
(c)
the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services
or designee
;
(d)
a school safety and security specialist designated under Section
53G-8-701.6
or
designee if applicable
;
(e)
school safety and security director designated under Section
53G-8-701.8
or designee
if applicable
;
(f)
a school resource officer if applicable;
and
or

(g)
any other relevant party that should be involved in a reintegration plan.
(2)
(a)
If
a school district
an LEA
receives a notification from the juvenile court or a law
enforcement agency that a student was arrested for, charged with, or adjudicated in
the juvenile court for a serious offense, the
LEA and the relevant
school shall develop
a reintegration plan for the student with a multidisciplinary team, the student, and the
student's parent or guardian, within
five
seven
school days after the day on which
the school receives a notification
while school is in session
.
(b)
If an LEA receives a notification when school is not in session from the juvenile
court or a law enforcement agency that a student was arrested for, charged with, or
adjudicated in the juvenile court for a serious offense, the school shall develop a
reintegration plan for the student with a multidisciplinary team, the student, and the
student's parent within seven days of school being back in session from summer
break.
(3)
The
relevant
school
described in Subsection
(2)
may deny admission to the student until
the school completes the reintegration plan under Subsection
(2)
.
(4)
(a)
The reintegration plan under Subsection
(2)
shall
address
include
:
(a)
(i)
a behavioral intervention for the student;
(b)
(ii)
a short-term mental health or counseling service for the student;
(c)
(iii)
an academic intervention for the student;
and
or
(iv)
any other interventions that the multidisciplinary team, the student, and the
student's parent or guardian determine are necessary.
(d)
(b)
if
If
the serious offense was directed at a school employee or another student
within the school, notification of the reintegration plan to that school employee or
student and the student's parent.
(5)
A school district
An LEA
may not reintegrate a student into a school where:
(a)
a student or staff member has a protective order against the student being
reintegrated; or
(b)
a student or staff member is the victim of
a sexual crime or forcible felony
committed by the student being reintegrated
an offense listed in Section
76-3-203.5

where the student is seeking reintegration or continued enrollment
.
(6)
A reintegration plan under this section will remain in effect for an entire school year or
180 days from the plan's implementation, or as long as the multidisciplinary team deems
the reintegration plan necessary.
(6)
(7)
(a)
Notwithstanding Subsection
(2)
,
a school district
an LEA
may elect to not
integrate a student into a school if the student has committed, or allegedly committed,
a forcible felony.
(b)
If
a school district
an LEA
elects to not integrate a student under Subsection
(6)(a)
(7)(a)
, the school district shall provide alternative education options for the student.
(7)
(8)
A reintegration plan under this section is classified as a protected record under
Section
63G-2-305
.
(8)
(9)
All other records of disclosures under this section are governed by Title 63G,
Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, and the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g.
Section 4. Section
53G-8-403
is amended to read:
53G-8-403
. Superintendent required to notify school.
(1)
"LEA head" means the superintendent of a school district or the director of a charter
school.
(2)
Within three days of receiving a notification from the juvenile court or a law
enforcement agency under Section
80-6-103
, the LEA head or LEA head's designee
shall notify the principal of the school the juvenile attends or last attended.
(3)
Upon receipt of the information, the principal shall:
(a)
make a notation in a secure file other than the student's permanent file; and
(b)
if the student is still enrolled in the school, notify staff members who, in his opinion,
should know of the adjudication.
(4)
A person receiving information
pursuant to
in accordance with
this part may only
disclose the information to other persons having both a right and a current need to know.
(5)
Access to secure files shall be limited to persons authorized to receive information
under this part.
(6)
Beginning no later than July 1, 2025, an LEA shall digitally maintain the
secure
cumulative
file described in Subsection
(3)
or, if available, the
students
student's
related reintegration plan described in
53G-8-213
, for one year from the day the notice is
received and ensure the secure file follows the student if the student transfers to a
different school or LEA.
Section 5. Section
63M-7-208
is amended to read:
63M-7-208
. Juvenile justice oversight -- Delegation -- Effective dates.
(1)
The State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice shall:
(a)
support implementation and expansion of evidence-based juvenile justice programs
and practices, including assistance regarding implementation fidelity, quality
assurance, and ongoing evaluation;
(b)
examine and make recommendations on the use of third-party entities or an
intermediary organization to assist with implementation and to support the
performance-based contracting system authorized in Subsection
(1)(m)
;
(c)
oversee the development of performance measures to track juvenile justice reforms,
and ensure early and ongoing stakeholder engagement in identifying the relevant
performance measures;
(d)
evaluate currently collected data elements throughout the juvenile justice system and
contract reporting requirements to streamline reporting, reduce redundancies,
eliminate inefficiencies, and ensure a focus on recidivism reduction;
(e)
review averted costs from reductions in out-of-home placements for juvenile justice
youth placed with the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services and the
Division of Child and Family Services, and make recommendations to prioritize the
reinvestment and realignment of resources into community-based programs for youth
living at home, including the following:
(i)
statewide expansion of:
(A)
juvenile receiving centers, as defined in Section
80-1-102
;
(B)
mobile crisis outreach teams, as defined in Section
26B-5-101
;
(C)
youth courts; and
(D)
victim-offender mediation;
(ii)
statewide implementation of nonresidential diagnostic assessment;
(iii)
statewide availability of evidence-based programs and practices including
cognitive behavioral and family therapy programs for minors assessed by a
validated risk and needs assessment as moderate or high risk;
(iv)
implementation and infrastructure to support the sustainability and fidelity of
evidence-based juvenile justice programs, including resources for staffing,
transportation, and flexible funds; and
(v)
early intervention programs such as family strengthening programs, family
wraparound services, and proven truancy interventions;
(f)
assist the Administrative Office of the Courts in the development of a statewide
sliding scale for the assessment of fines, fees, and restitution, based on the ability of
the minor's family to pay;
(g)
analyze the alignment of resources and the roles and responsibilities of agencies,
such as the operation of early intervention services, receiving centers, and diversion,
and make recommendations to reallocate functions as appropriate, in accordance with
Section
80-5-401
;
(h)
comply with the data collection and reporting requirements under Section
80-6-104
;
(i)
develop a reasonable timeline within which all programming delivered to minors in
the juvenile justice system
must
shall
be evidence-based or consist of practices that
are rated as effective for reducing recidivism by a standardized program evaluation
tool;
(j)
provide guidelines to be considered by the Administrative Office of the Courts and
the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services in developing tools considered
by the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Division of Juvenile Justice and
Youth Services in developing or selecting tools to be used for the evaluation of
juvenile justice programs;
(k)
develop a timeline to support improvements to juvenile justice programs to achieve
reductions in recidivism and review reports from relevant state agencies on progress
toward reaching that timeline;
(l)
subject to Subsection
(2)
, assist in the development of training for juvenile justice
stakeholders, including educators, law enforcement officers, probation staff, judges,
Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services staff, Division of Child and Family
Services staff, and program providers;
(m)
subject to Subsection
(3)
, assist in the development of a performance-based
contracting system, which shall be developed by the Administrative Office of the
Courts and the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services for contracted
services in the community and contracted out-of-home placement providers;
(n)
assist in the development of a validated detention risk assessment tool that is
developed or adopted and validated by the Administrative Office of the Courts and
the Division of Juvenile Justice and Youth Services as provided in Section
80-5-203
;
and
(o)
annually issue and make public a report to the governor, president of the Senate,
speaker of the House of Representatives, and chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court
on the progress of the reforms and any additional areas in need of review.
(2)
Training described in Subsection
(1)(l)
should include instruction on evidence-based
programs and principles of juvenile justice, such as risk, needs, responsivity, and
fidelity, and
shall
changes in legislation that impact the juvenile justice system and
may
be supplemented by the following topics:
(a)
adolescent development;
(b)
identifying and using local behavioral health resources;
(c)
cross-cultural awareness;
(d)
graduated responses;
(e)
Utah juvenile justice system data and outcomes; and
(f)
gangs.
(3)
The system described in Subsection
(1)(m)
shall provide incentives for:
(a)
the use of evidence-based juvenile justice programs and practices rated as effective
by the tools selected in accordance with Subsection
(1)(j)
;
(b)
the use of three-month timelines for program completion; and
(c)
evidence-based programs and practices for minors living at home in rural areas.
(4)
The State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice may delegate the duties
imposed under this section to a subcommittee or board established by the State
Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice in accordance with Subsection
63M-7-204(2)
.
Section 6. Section
80-6-103
is amended to read:
80-6-103
. Notification to a school -- Civil and criminal liability.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"School" means a school in a local education agency.
(b)
"Local education agency" means a school district, a charter school, or the Utah
Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(c)
"School official" means the superintendent of a school district or the director of a
charter school or designee in which the minor resides or attends school.
(d)
"Serious offense" means:
(i)
a violent felony as defined in Section
76-3-203.5
;
(ii)
an offense that is a violation of an offense under
Title 76, Chapter 6, Part 4, Theft
,
and the property stolen is a firearm; or
(iii)
an offense that is a violation of an offense under Title 76, Chapter 11, Weapons.
(e)
"Transferee school official" means the superintendent of a school district or the
director of a charter school or designee in which the minor resides or attends school if
the minor is admitted to home detention.
(2)
A notification under this section is provided for a minor's supervision and student safety.
(3)
(a)
If a minor is taken into temporary custody under Section
80-6-201
for a serious
offense, the peace officer, or other person who has taken the minor into temporary
custody, shall notify a school official within five days after the day on which the
minor is
taken into
taken into
temporary custody.
(b)
A notification under this Subsection
(3)
shall only disclose:
(i)
the name of the minor;
(ii)
the offense for which the minor was taken into temporary custody or admitted to
detention; and
(iii)
if available, the name of the victim if the victim resides in the same school
district as the minor or attends the same school as the minor.
(4)
After a detention hearing for a minor who is alleged to have committed a serious
offense, the juvenile court shall order a juvenile probation officer to notify a school
official, or a transferee school official, and the appropriate local law enforcement agency
of the juvenile court's decision, including any disposition, order, or no-contact order
, and
the issuance of any order for the minors release from temporary custody
.
(5)
If a designated staff member of a detention facility admits a minor to home detention
under Section
80-6-205
and notifies the juvenile court of that admission, the juvenile
court shall order a juvenile probation officer to notify a school official, or a transferee
school official, and the appropriate local law enforcement agency that the minor has
been admitted to home detention.
(6)
(a)
If the juvenile court adjudicates a minor for a serious offense, the juvenile court
shall order a juvenile probation officer to notify a school official, or a transferee
school official, of the adjudication.
(b)
A notification under this Subsection
(6)
shall be given to a school official, or a
transferee school official, within three days after the day on which the minor is
adjudicated.
(c)
A notification under this section shall include:
(i)
the name of the minor;
(ii)
the offense for which the minor was adjudicated; and
(iii)
if available, the name of the victim if the victim:
(A)
resides in the same school district as the minor; or
(B)
attends the same school as the minor.
(7)
If the juvenile court orders formal probation under Section
80-6-702
, the juvenile court
shall order a juvenile probation officer to notify the appropriate local law enforcement
agency and the school official of the juvenile court's order for formal probation.
(8)
(a)
An employee of the local law enforcement agency, or the school the minor
attends, who discloses a notification under this section is not:
(i)
civilly liable except when the disclosure constitutes fraud or willful misconduct as
provided in Section
63G-7-202
; and
(ii)
civilly or criminally liable except when the disclosure constitutes a knowing
violation of Section
63G-2-801
.
(b)
An employee of a governmental agency is immune from any criminal liability for
failing to provide the information required by this section, unless the employee fails
to act due to malice, gross negligence, or deliberate indifference to the consequences.
(9)
(a)
A notification under this section shall be classified as a protected record under
Section
63G-2-305
.
(b)
All other records of disclosures under this section are governed by
Title 63G,
Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act
, and the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g.
Section 7.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
3-6-26 6:20 PM