HB 518 Utah House · 2026 General Session

School Curriculum Amendments

HB 518 modifies Utah's social studies curriculum requirements for K-12 public schools. It mandates that American constitutional government and citizenship be taught as separate semester courses, and requires U.S. history to be taught as two distinct semester courses. The bill also prohibits students from repeating the same semester course for graduation, requires literacy coaches to integrate social studies content into literacy instruction, and mandates regular social studies instruction in elementary grades. Implementation must occur by July 1, 2031, and the bill repeals an adult education citizenship test.
Bill status passed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Governor
Introduced Feb 9, 2026 Last action Mar 7, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Substitute #1 · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to change the Senate sponsor, update the effective date to July 1, 2031, and add a repeal of an adult education citizenship test. The core requirements for social studies curriculum, literacy coaching, and elementary instruction remain largely the same, though the new version includes a specific prohibition against students taking the same semester course twice to meet graduation requirements.
Scope change
The bill now explicitly repeals the adult education citizenship test requirement and clarifies that students cannot duplicate the same semester course to satisfy graduation requirements.
TIMELINE

The implementation deadline was extended from the 2028-29 school year to July 1, 2031.

REQUIREMENT

Added a specific prohibition preventing students from taking the same semester course twice to meet graduation requirements.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a provision to repeal the adult education citizenship test.

TECHNICAL

Updated the Senate Sponsor name from 'LONG TITLE' to 'John D. Johnson'.

Floor votes · House Mar 3, 2026

How they voted

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

Actions timeline

Total actions
28
Key actions
3
Committee
3
Mar 5, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ committee report favorable [House Education Committee]
lower
Feb 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Education Committee]
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Committee
House/ to standing committee [House Education Committee]
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors