Members of the Utah State Board of Education leadership – Chair Mark Huntsman and Vice Chairs Laura Belnap and Cindy Davis – today confirmed that the board approved a new administrative rule requiring school districts and charter schools to “establish a policy and accompanying procedures for the selection and reconsideration of library materials selected for a school’s library that is consistent with current state and federal law,” including newly passed H.B. 374, Sensitive Materials in Schools, and has created a reporting mechanism and notified districts and charter schools to document parental challenges to materials being used in schools.
The assurances came in response to a letter from Utah Speaker of the House Brad Wilson who asked board members to “work together with students’ and parents’ best interests in mind.”
“The Board continues to work with the Office of the Attorney General to provide the best legal guidance to districts and charters school on handling sensitive materials in schools,” Huntsman said. “We are also moving expeditiously and judiciously to comply with all aspects of H.B. 374.”
Direct link to board leadership’s letter: https://schools.utah.gov/File/960f5c12-aab5-419d-8a14-1e2f6e3e05a4.
