HB 145 Utah House · 2026 General Session

School Excused Absence Amendments

HB 145 amends Utah's definition of "valid excuse" for school absences to include participation in specific extracurricular clubs. It explicitly adds mountain biking, shooting sports, and Utah State University-administered youth development programs (focused on agriculture, STEM, leadership, etc.) to the list of activities that qualify as a valid excuse. This directly affects public school students in Utah who participate in these clubs, allowing them to miss school for club-related events without being marked truant. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2026, and makes only technical changes to the existing code.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Signed Mar 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute #1 → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 19, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates the Utah Code definitions regarding student absences and truancy to include new categories of private education providers. It formally defines 'home-based microschools' and 'micro-education entities' and expands the list of valid excuses for missing school to include participation in specific youth clubs and rodeo competitions. The changes aim to clarify legal protections for students in these alternative learning environments and broaden the circumstances under which an absence is considered justified.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the truancy law to explicitly cover students enrolled in home-based microschools and micro-education entities, which were previously not fully addressed in the definitions.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'home-based microschool' (education for 16 or fewer students) and 'micro-education entity' (education for 100 or fewer students).

Added 'Instructor' as a new defined term for individuals teaching in these micro-school settings.

REQUIREMENT

Expanded the list of 'valid excuses' for absences to include participation in rodeo competitions and specific youth development clubs (mountain biking, shooting sports, and Utah State University youth programs).

Clarified that parents can justify absences for students maintaining a 2.0 GPA, provided the reason is not already covered by other specific categories.

TECHNICAL

Corrected a numbering error in the list of valid excuses, renumbering item (vii) to (viii) and adding a new item (ix).

Floor votes · House Feb 18, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 19, 2026

Signed into law

Governor Signed

executive

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Education Committee]

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Education Committee]

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Education Committee]

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ comm rpt/ substituted [House Education Committee]

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Education Committee]

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Education Committee]

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor