SB 170: School Discipline Amendments - Utah

Amended 2/27/2025 11:02:852 → Substitute #1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill replaces an earlier version with a substitute that makes technical formatting changes and updates the House Sponsor name. The substantive policy content regarding school discipline, physical restraint, and seclusion remains unchanged from the original version.

TECHNICAL

Updated the House Sponsor name from 'Ryan D. Wilcox' to blank in the header information.

Changed the bill title from 'School Discipline Amendments' to 'School Discipline Amendments' with minor formatting adjustments.

Adjusted the effective date reference from 'May 7, 2025' to '02-04 11:29' in the header metadata.

Reformatted the highlighted provisions section with different bullet point symbols and line breaks.

Updated the Utah Code Sections Affected section to remove 'Chapter 460' and 'Chapter 75' suffixes from the amendment references.

Amended Excerpts 2/27/2025 11:02:852 → Amended 2/27/2025 11:02:852 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill text shows formatting and structural changes rather than substantive policy modifications. The original excerpt format with line-by-line amendments has been replaced with a complete bill structure including title, general description, highlighted provisions, and Utah Code sections affected. The content appears to be the same legislative bill (SB 170) regarding school discipline and physical intervention standards, but presented in a different markup format.

Scope change

The scope of the bill itself remains focused on regulating emergency safety interventions and physical restraint in Utah schools, but the document format changed from amendment excerpts to a complete bill structure.

TECHNICAL

Changed from line-by-line amendment excerpts format to complete bill structure with title, sponsor information, general description, highlighted provisions, and Utah Code sections affected.

Removed specific line number references (lines 257-259, 311-313, 322-324) that indicated where amendments occurred in the original text.

Added complete bill header information including sponsor names (Luz Escamilla and Ryan D. Wilcox), general description of the bill's purpose, and highlighted provisions listing the bill's main features.

Added Utah Code sections affected section showing which existing laws are amended, repealed, or reenacted by this bill.

Changed page numbering and formatting from amendment markup style (-1-, -2-, -3-) to standard bill formatting with consistent page headers.

Enrolled → Amended Excerpts 2/27/2025 11:02:852 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to modify how schools must report data on emergency safety interventions and to adjust the timeline for notifying parents after using seclusion or physical restraint. These changes aim to improve transparency and ensure parents receive timely information about interventions used on their children.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on school discipline and emergency safety interventions, but the reporting requirements and parental notification timelines have been modified.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for schools to notify parents immediately after using seclusion or physical restraint was changed to allow notification within 24 hours instead of immediately.

The reporting requirements for student demographic information were modified to include age instead of grade level in some contexts, and to clarify the inclusion of applicable disability status.

The time limitation for seclusion was changed from a maximum of 30 minutes to no specific time limit, only requiring that the use be time-limited and monitored.

TECHNICAL

Several technical formatting changes were made to the bill text, including line number adjustments and minor text modifications.

Substitute #2 → Substitute #3 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill replaces an earlier version with a more streamlined substitute that consolidates school discipline and physical intervention rules into a single code section. The new version clarifies definitions for emergency safety interventions, establishes clearer standards for when physical restraint and seclusion may be used, and strengthens data reporting requirements for school districts. It also updates the annual report requirements for the State Board of Education to include specific information about physical restraint incidents.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on school discipline and emergency safety interventions in Utah schools, but the language is now more precise and consolidated into fewer code sections.

REQUIREMENT

Consolidates multiple school discipline sections (53G-8-301 through 53G-8-305) into a single section (53G-8-301) for emergency safety interventions, making the rules easier to find and apply.

Requires school districts to collect and report detailed data on physical restraint and seclusion incidents, including duration, purpose, alternative interventions attempted, and staff training received.

Updates the State Superintendent's Annual Report to include specific information about physical restraint and seclusion incidents, improving transparency about school discipline practices.

DEFINITION

Adds clear definitions for key terms including 'emergency safety intervention,' 'physical restraint,' 'seclusion,' and 'physical escort' to reduce ambiguity in how schools implement discipline.

ENFORCEMENT

Maintains liability protections for good faith reports while clarifying that schools cannot sanction employees who refuse to use prohibited interventions.

TECHNICAL

Updates code section references and formatting throughout the bill to reflect current Utah Code structure and remove outdated cross-references.

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill substitutes a revised version of SB 170 that regulates school physical interventions, seclusion, and related reporting requirements. The changes update the House sponsor name, clarify that the bill regulates 'emergency safety interventions' rather than just 'physical interventions,' and modify the highlighted provisions to specify 'allowed incidences of seclusion' instead of 'defines and prohibits the use of seclusion.' The substantive policy content appears largely unchanged from the original version, with these being primarily technical and formatting updates to the bill's introductory sections.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on school discipline and physical intervention policies in Utah public schools, with no changes to applicability or jurisdiction.

TECHNICAL

Updated House Sponsor name from 'LONG TITLE' to 'Ryan D. Wilcox'

Changed General Description from 'physical interventions' to 'emergency safety interventions'

Updated Highlighted Provisions to change 'defines and prohibits the use of seclusion' to 'defines allowed incidences of seclusion in schools'

Added bill version identifier '2nd Sub. (Salmon) S.B. 170' and page numbers in header/footer format

Introduced → Enrolled · 7 edits · Mar 26, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates Utah's school discipline laws to modernize physical intervention standards, clarify definitions, and expand reporting requirements. It reorganizes existing physical intervention rules into a single code section, adds new provisions for seclusion and electronic cigarette policies, and updates juvenile code definitions to exclude certain reasonable physical restraint from abuse classifications.

Scope change

The bill expands applicability by adding seclusion provisions and electronic cigarette response policies, while clarifying that reasonable physical restraint is not considered abuse under specific circumstances.

REQUIREMENT

Physical intervention rules are consolidated into a single code section (53G-8-301) with clearer definitions for corporal punishment, physical escort, and physical restraint.

New requirements for LEAs to adopt policies on electronic cigarette possession/use and serious offenses/sexual crimes.

State Board of Education must establish administrative rules for physical intervention, including reporting, training, parental notification, and investigation protocols.

Annual report requirements expanded to include data on physical restraint incidents and seclusion incidents.

DEFINITION

Juvenile code definitions updated to exclude reasonable physical restraint used by educators in self-defense or to protect students from being classified as abuse.

ENFORCEMENT

Added immunity provisions for good faith reports and clarified liability protections for schools and employees.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and sponsorship name changes (House Sponsor updated from LONG TITLE to Ryan D. Wilcox).

School Discipline Amendments

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