HB 528

 02-27 13:48  1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 528
                           Cheryl K. Acton proposes the following substitute bill:
1Local School Board Reporting
                                        2026 GENERAL SESSION
                                              STATE OF UTAH
                                    Chief Sponsor: Cheryl K. Acton
                                     Senate Sponsor: John D. Johnson
2
3   LONG TITLE
4   General Description:
5This bill requires a school district to report open enrollment data to the State Board of
6   Education (state board) and requires the state board to publish that data.
7   Highlighted Provisions:
8This bill:
9▸ requires a school district to report open enrollment data to the state board;
10▸ requires the state board to publish open enrollment data and contact information for open
11   enrollment staff; and
12▸ makes technical changes.
13   Money Appropriated in this Bill:
14None
15   Other Special Clauses:
16This bill provides a special effective date.
17   Utah Code Sections Affected:
                                                                                                           1st Sub. H.B. 528
18   AMENDS:
1953G-6-403, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 293
20
21   Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
22Section 1. Section 53G-6-403 is amended to read:
2353G-6-403 . Policies for acceptance and rejection of applications -- Open
24   enrollment data reporting.
25   (1)(a) A local school board shall adopt policies governing acceptance and rejection of
26applications required under Section 53G-6-402.
27(b) The policies adopted under Subsection (1)(a) shall include policies and procedures to
28assure that decisions regarding enrollment requests are administered fairly without
29prejudice to any student or class of student, except as provided in Subsection (2).
 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 528  02-27 13:48
30   (2) Standards for accepting or rejecting an application for enrollment may include:
31(a) for an elementary school, the capacity of the grade level;
32(b) for a secondary school, the capacity of a comprehensive program;
33(c) maintenance of heterogeneous student populations if necessary to avoid violation of
34constitutional or statutory rights of students;
35(d) not offering, or having capacity in, an elementary or secondary special education or
36other special program the student requires;
37(e) maintenance of reduced class sizes:
38(i) in a Title I school that uses federal, state, and local money to reduce class sizes for
39the purpose of improving student achievement; or
40(ii) in a school that uses school trust money to reduce class size;
41(f) willingness of prospective students to comply with district policies; and
42(g) giving priority to intradistrict transfers over interdistrict transfers.
43   (3)(a) Standards for accepting or rejecting applications for enrollment may not include:
44(i) previous academic achievement;
45(ii) athletic or other extracurricular ability;
46(iii) the fact that the student requires special education services for which space is
47available;
48(iv) proficiency in the English language; or
49(v) previous disciplinary proceedings, except as provided in Subsection (3)(b).
50(b) A local school board may provide for the denial of applications from students who:
51(i) have committed serious infractions of the law or school policies, including
52policies of the district in which enrollment is sought; or
53(ii) have been guilty of chronic misbehavior which would, if it were to continue after
54the student was admitted:
55(A) endanger persons or property;
56(B) cause serious disruptions in the school; or
57(C) place unreasonable burdens on school staff.
58(c) A local school board may also provide for provisional enrollment of students with
59prior behavior problems, establishing conditions under which enrollment of a
60nonresident student would be permitted or continued.
61   (4)(a) The state board, in consultation with the Utah High School Activities Association,
62shall establish policies regarding nonresident student participation in interscholastic
63competition.
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 02-27 13:48  1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 528
64(b) Nonresident students shall be eligible for extracurricular activities at a public school
65consistent with eligibility standards as applied to students that reside within the
66school attendance area, except as provided by policies established under Subsection
67(4)(a).
68   (5)(a) [For each school in the district, the local school board shall post on the school
69district's website:] A school district shall annually report to the state board for each
70school in the school district:
71[(a)] (i) the school's maximum capacity;
72[(b)] (ii) the school's adjusted capacity;
73[(c)] (iii) the school's projected enrollment used in the calculation of the open
74enrollment threshold;
75[(d)] (iv) actual enrollment on October 1, [January 2] December 1, and [April 1] June
7630;
77[(e)] (v) the number of nonresident student enrollment requests;
78[(f)] (vi) the number of nonresident student enrollment requests accepted; [and]
79[(g)] (vii) the number of resident students transferring to another school[.] ; and
80(viii) the name and contact information for the open enrollment staff or specialist in
81the school district.
82(b) A school district shall post the information described in Subsection (5)(a) on the
83school district's website.
84   (6)(a) The state board shall annually publish on the state board's website a report that
85includes:
86(i) for each school in the state:
87(A) the information described in Subsection (5)(a); and
88(B) the open enrollment rate, calculated as the number of nonresident students
89enrolled divided by the total number of students enrolled; and
90(ii) for each school district in the state, the aggregated data described in Subsection
91(6)(a)(i).
92(b) The state board shall publish on the state board's website the name and contact
93information for the open enrollment staff or specialist in each school district.
94Section 2. Effective Date.
95   This bill takes effect on November 30, 2026.
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