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Read. Follow. Verify.Utah regulates student educational data disclosure and requires digital informed consent mechanisms
Last action · March 19, 2026: Governor SignedSponsors: Kirk Cullimore and 1 other
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What This Bill Does
Utah enacts new and requirements starting July 1, 2026, requiring education entities and higher education institutions to provide secure digital consent tools and prohibiting the bundling of unrelated terms. Students, or parents for minor students, gain specific rights to access transcript and enrollment data, while third parties receiving data for more than 10 students face strict compliance rules and potential private lawsuits for violations.
Enforces digital privacy safeguards and data-sharing restrictions across K-12 and higher education institutions, giving students and parents legal standing to sue third-party data recipients who violate consent terms.
- The State Board of Education oversees public education policy and administration within the state of Utah. context
- The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
students currently or previously enrolled in an education entity
Students gain explicit rights to access educational data, authorize its disclosure through secure digital mechanisms, and sue third parties for data violations.
parents of students under 18 years old
Parents must provide informed consent on behalf of minor students and hold the right to access the student's educational data.
education entities and institutions of higher education
Schools must offer secure digital consent mechanisms by July 1, 2027, disclose limitations clearly, and restrict data disclosures to agreed terms.
third parties receiving educational data
Third parties are restricted to using data only as specified in consent documents, prohibited from redisclosing it, and exposed to private lawsuits if they violate requirements.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What rights do students and parents have regarding educational data under this bill?
Can schools bundle unrelated conditions when asking for consent to share student data?
What happens if a third party violates student data disclosure rules?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
53 actions- Mar 19, 2026Lieutenant Governor's office for filingEnrolledGovernor Signed
- Mar 13, 2026SenateSenate/ to Governor
- Mar 13, 2026SenateSenate/ received enrolled bill from Printing
- Mar 11, 2026SenateSenate/ enrolled bill to Printing
- Mar 11, 2026Senate SecretaryEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
- Mar 10, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingDraft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
Show 47 earlier actions
- Mar 10, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingBill Received from Senate for Enrolling
- Mar 10, 2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling
- Mar 10, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ concurs with House amendment
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on Concurrence Calendar
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Mar 6, 2026HouseFloorHouse/ passed 3rd reading
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ floor amendment
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd reading
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd Reading Calendar to Rules
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse/ committee report favorable
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Mar 3, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Mar 3, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Mar 3, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 3rd reading
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate/ 3rd reading
- Mar 3, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0296S01
- Mar 2, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0296S01
- Mar 2, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 2nd reading
- Mar 2, 2026SenateSenate/ substituted
- Mar 2, 2026SenateSenate/ uncircled
- Mar 2, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0296S01
- Mar 2, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0296S01
- Feb 27, 2026SenateSenate/ circled
- Feb 27, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd reading
- Feb 23, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Feb 23, 2026SenateSenate/ committee report favorable
- Feb 23, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 19, 2026SenateSenate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Feb 19, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0296
- Feb 18, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Feb 18, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0296
- Feb 17, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 17, 2026SenateSenate/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Feb 16, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0296
- Feb 16, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0296
- Feb 16, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Feb 16, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselBill Numbered but not Distributed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Digital Consent Adoption
The bill mandates the transition to secure digital or electronic informed consent mechanisms by July 1, 2027, modernizing educational record compliance.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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