LAW AND LICENSING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS July 14, 2026 _____________________________________________________________________________ The meeting was conducted in a virtual format via Zoom. . Members Present: Joseph Kerry, Amanda Bollinger, Rod Hall, Carol Lear Committee Staff: Elisse Newey, Ben Rasmussen, Vanessa Hatton Others Present: Lora Cooper, Lisa McLachlan, Emily Green, Debbie Davis, Malia Hite, Greg Connell, Davina Sauthoff Chair Kerry called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. 7.1 Public Comment 7.2 R277-322, Local Education Agency (LEA) Codes of Conduct (Amendment) Committee Discussion: Authorized by Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3, and Utah Code Sections 53E-3-401(4) and 63G-7-301, this rule grants the Utah State Board of Education the explicit authority to mandate that all LEAs adopt and strictly enforce appropriate behavior policies for their staff. 63G-7-301 also requires the Utah State Board of Education to develop a model code of conduct that sets the minimum requirements of an LEA code of conduct. The proposed revisions to this rule are the result of a Board Member Request from Board Members Kerry, Hall, Kelly, and Britton in August 2025. The rule was assigned to Law & Licensing Committee in October. After a series of discussions and early drafts, the Board voted to pause the conversation during the Legislative 2026 session and to bring the rule back for consideration. Staff presented R277-322, Local Education Agency (LEA) Codes of Conduct, Draft 4a, for consideration and approval. Committee Action: Member Kerry moved that the Committee amend Draft 4a to reinstate Lines 114-117. Committee Action: Member Lear moved that the Committee strike “or participate in” and “or results in.” The motion failed 3-1, with Member Lear in favor and Member Longacre absent. Committee Action: Member Kerry moved that the Committee amend Draft 4a to Page | 1 Contact Person and Email: Vanessa Hatton, vanessa.hatton@schools.utah.gov LAW AND LICENSING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS July 14, 2026 _____________________________________________________________________________ reinstate Lines 114-117. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. Committee Action: Member Bollinger moved that the Committee strike Lines 214- 215. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. Committee Action: Member Kerry moved that the Committee approve R277-322, Local Education Agency (LEA) Codes of Conduct, Draft 4a, as amended, on first reading and forward to the Board on second and final reading. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: That the Board approve R277-322, Local Education Agency (LEA) Codes of Conduct, Draft 5, on second and final reading. 7.3 R277-301, Educator Licensing (Continuation & Amendment) Committee Discussion: HB 374 transferred the authority to license audiologists and speech-language pathologists from USBE to DOPL. USBE licenses with those license areas will expire over the next five years. Staff recommend updating provisions of the rule referencing these license areas as well as other technical changes. Staff presented R277-301, Educator Licensing, Draft 1, for consideration and approval. Committee Action: Member Hall moved that the Committee amend Line 428 to strike “two” and insert “five.” The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. Committee Action: Member Hall moved that the Committee continue and approve R277-301, Educator Licensing, Draft 1, as amended, on first reading and forward to the Board for continuation and approval on second and final reading. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: That the Board continue and approve Page | 2 Contact Person and Email: Vanessa Hatton, vanessa.hatton@schools.utah.gov LAW AND LICENSING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS July 14, 2026 _____________________________________________________________________________ R277-301, Educator Licensing, Draft 2, on second and final reading. 7.4 R277-304, Teacher Preparation Programs (Amendment) Committee Discussion: Staff recommend updating the rule to update requirements for secondary education prep programs, to update terminology, and update requirements for CTE prep programs. Staff presented R277-304, Teacher Preparation Programs, Draft 1, for consideration and approval. Committee Action: Member Bollinger moved that the Committee approve R277- 304, Teacher Preparation Programs, Draft 1, on first reading and forward to the Board for approval on second and final reading. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: That the Board approve R277-304, Teacher Preparation Programs, Draft 1, on second and final reading. 7.5 R277-306, Educator Preparation Programs for School Psychologists, Audiologists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Speech-Language Technicians, Counselors, and School Social Workers (Amendment) Committee Discussion: HB 374 transferred authority to license audiologists and speech-language pathologists from USBE to DOPL. The proposed amendments to the rule recognize that prep programs for these license areas are no longer necessary and the language governing these license area should be removed. Staff presented R277-306, Educator Preparation Programs for School Psychologists, Audiologists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Speech-Language Technicians, Counselors, and School Social Workers, Draft 1, for consideration and approval. Committee Action: Member Hall moved that the Committee strike Lines 98-100 and replace with the following: (b) requires significant experiences under the supervision of an individual holding: (i) a professional speech-language pathologist license area of concentration; or (ii) a speech-language pathologist license issued by the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. Page | 3 Contact Person and Email: Vanessa Hatton, vanessa.hatton@schools.utah.gov LAW AND LICENSING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS July 14, 2026 _____________________________________________________________________________ The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. Committee Action: Member Hall moved that the Committee approve R277-306, Educator Preparation Programs for School Psychologists, Audiologists, Speech- Language Pathologists, Speech-Language Technicians, Counselors, and School Social Workers, Draft 1, as amended, on first reading and forward to the Board for approval on second and final reading. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: That the Board approve R277-306, Educator Preparation Programs for School Psychologists, Audiologists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Speech-Language Technicians, Counselors, and School Social Workers, Draft 2, on second and final reading. 7.6 R277-101, Public Participation in Utah State Board of Education Meetings (Continuation) Committee Discussion: R277-101 is soon approaching its five-year review. Staff recommend continuation of the rule. Staff presented R277-101, Public Participation in Utah State Board of Education Meetings, Continuation, for consideration and approval. Committee Action: Member Bollinger moved that the Committee continue R277- 101, Public Participation in Utah State Board of Education Meetings, and forward to the Board for approval. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: That the Board continue R277-101, Public Participation in Utah State Board of Education Meetings. 7.7 R277-409, Public School Membership in Associations (Continuation) Committee Discussion: R277-409 is soon approaching its five-year review. Staff recommend continuation of the rule. Page | 4 Contact Person and Email: Vanessa Hatton, vanessa.hatton@schools.utah.gov LAW AND LICENSING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS July 14, 2026 _____________________________________________________________________________ Staff presented R277-409, Public School Membership in Associations, Continuation, for consideration and approval. Committee Action: Member Lear moved that the Committee continue R277-409, Public School Membership in Associations, and forward to the Board for approval. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: That the Board continue R277-409, Public School Membership in Associations. 7.8 R277-121, Board Waiver of Administrative Rules (Amendment) Committee Discussion: Amendment to bring R277-121 to include charter authorizer. Staff presented R277-121, Board Waiver of Administrative Rules, Draft 1, for consideration and approval. Committee Action: No action. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: None. 7.9 R277-211, Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC), Rules of Procedure: Notification to Educators, Complaints and Final Disciplinary Actions (Amendment) Committee Discussion: SB 312 created new procedures for the Board to follow when suspending an educator's license. These procedures require findings in some cases as to whether an educator should be able to work in the schools in some capacity, notwithstanding the suspension of the educator's license. Draft 1 contains recommendations from staff to incorporate the new requirements. Additionally, three board members (Kerry, Hall, and Brinton) requested that the Board review additional changes to the UPPAC process in light of the committee's recent process. Draft 2 includes staff recommendations to SB312 and a number of recommendations proposed by these board members for updates to this rule. Staff presented R277-211, Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC), Rules of Procedure: Notification to Educators, Complaints and Final Disciplinary Actions, Draft 1, for consideration and approval. Page | 5 Contact Person and Email: Vanessa Hatton, vanessa.hatton@schools.utah.gov LAW AND LICENSING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS July 14, 2026 _____________________________________________________________________________ Members Kerry, Hall, and Brinton presented Drafts 2 and 3 for consideration. Committee Action: Member Hall moved that the Committee continue Items 1.9, 1.10, and 1.11 to the August Law and Licensing Committee meeting. Committee Action: Member Bollinger moved that the Committee divide each item as a separate motion. The motion passed without objection. Committee Action: Member Lear moved that the Committee amend Member Hall’s motion to read that the committee continue Item 1.9 to a subsequent Committee meeting. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre and Kerry absent. Committee Action on the Underlying Motion: Member Lear moved that the Committee continue Item 1.9 to a subsequent Committee meeting. The motion failed 2-1, with Member Hall in favor and Members Kerry and Longacre absent. Committee Action: Member Lear moved that the Committee approve R277-211, Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC), Rules of Procedure: Notification to Educators, Complaints and Final Disciplinary Actions, Draft 1, on first reading and forward to the Board for approval on second and final reading. The motion passed 2-1, with Member Hall opposed and Members Kerry and Longacre absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: That the Board approve R277-211, Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC), Rules of Procedure: Notification to Educators, Complaints and Final Disciplinary Actions, Draft 1, on second and final reading. 7.10 Board Policy 6001: Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC) Code of Conduct (New) Committee Discussion: Staff recommend consideration of Board Policy 6001 based on feedback in recent committee meetings. Concerns have been raised over the lack of a written conflict of interest and privacy policy for UPPAC. The Page | 6 Contact Person and Email: Vanessa Hatton, vanessa.hatton@schools.utah.gov LAW AND LICENSING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS July 14, 2026 _____________________________________________________________________________ proposed code of conduct in Board Policy 6001 has been reviewed by the commission and other key staff and seeks to proactively address these concerns. Committee Action: Member Hall moved that the Committee continue Items 1.10 and 1.11 to the August Law and Licensing Committee meeting. The motion failed 2-1, with Member Hall in favor and Members Kerry and Longacre absent. Committee Action: No further action. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: None. 7.11 Board Policy 6002: Utah Professional Practices Advisory Commission (UPPAC) Staff Requirements (New) Committee Discussion: Three board members submitted a request for an agenda item to update requirements for UPPAC staff. Board Policy 6002 includes directives for staff for data tracking and records management. Committee Action: No action. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: None. 7.12 Sensitive Materials Timeline Update Committee Discussion: During the May 18, 2026, Committee Meeting, Member Green made the following motion: Member Green moved that the Standards and Assessment Committee direct staff to bring back a timeline for conducting a comprehensive review and audit of public school library material selection and acquisition practices in Utah, including funding sources, procurement procedures, vendor and publisher relationships, librarian qualifications and training, collection development standards, distributor influence, and the role of professional organizations in shaping library policies and purchasing decisions. The motion passed unanimously. See the timeline in the backup documentation. During the June 5, 2026, Committee Meeting, Member Green made the following motion: Member Green moved that the Standards and Assessment Committee direct staff to bring back a timeline for conducting a comprehensive review Page | 7 Contact Person and Email: Vanessa Hatton, vanessa.hatton@schools.utah.gov LAW AND LICENSING COMMITTEE SUMMARY OF ACTIONS July 14, 2026 _____________________________________________________________________________ and audit of public school library material selection and acquisition practices in Utah, including funding sources, procurement procedures, vendor and publisher relationships, librarian qualifications and training, collection development standards, distributor influence, and the role of professional organizations in shaping library policies and purchasing decisions. The motion passed unanimously. Additionally, the Committee asked for the request to include $60,000 from discretionary funds to conduct the review. Staff presented the 2026 Timeline Policy, Draft 1, for consideration and approval. Committee Action: Member Hall moved that the Committee adopt the 2026 Timeline Policy, Draft 1, on first reading and appropriate $60,000 from Board discretionary funds for implementation and forward to the Board for approval on second and final reading. The motion passed unanimously, with Member Longacre absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: That the Board adopt the 2026 Timeline Policy, Draft 1, on second and final reading and appropriate $60,000 from Board discretionary funds for implementation. 7.13 Policy Request Items Committee Discussion: A standing placeholder agenda item to allow the committee to discuss any policy requests that may arise. Committee Action: Member Bollinger moved that the Committee direct staff to prepare a policy request to repeal Utah Code Subsection 53E-6-604(6). The motion passed unanimously, with Members Longacre and Kerry absent. MOTION FOR THE BOARD: None. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 3:09 p.m. Page | 8 Contact Person and Email: Vanessa Hatton, vanessa.hatton@schools.utah.gov