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Read. Follow. Verify.Utah Revises School Safety Personnel Standards, Cybersecurity Mandates, and Student Device Rules
Last action · March 19, 2026: Governor SignedSponsors: Ryan Wilcox and 2 others
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What This Bill Does
Utah enacts comprehensive amendments to school safety laws, requiring county security chiefs to coordinate training, establishing the school guardian and Educator-Protector programs with $500 stipends, mandating panic alert devices and cybersecurity compliance for local education agencies, and regulating student cellphone and technology use.
Local education agencies, county sheriffs, school employees, and families must adapt to new mandatory training standards, cybersecurity compliance timelines, emergency visitor protocols, and restricted student access to personal electronic devices during school hours.
- State school safety standards in Utah have undergone recurring legislative updates to integrate armed personnel, threat assessments, and infrastructure hardening. context
- The Utah Cyber Center operates within state government to coordinate cybersecurity responses and threat intelligence across public agencies and local education entities. 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.
Local education agencies
Must implement new school safety personnel requirements, panic alert devices, key boxes, visitor management protocols, and cybersecurity standards.
School employees
Eligible to participate in the school guardian or Educator-Protector programs subject to training and background requirements.
Students
Subject to strict prohibitions on cellphone and wearable technology use during classroom hours and enhanced school safety measures.
County sheriffs
Required to designate a county security chief to coordinate security responsibilities, training administration, and school safety needs assessments.
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 is the School Guardian Program?
Are students allowed to use cellphones during school hours?
What are the new cybersecurity requirements for local education agencies?
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
82 actions- Mar 19, 2026Lieutenant Governor's office for filingEnrolledGovernor Signed
- Mar 16, 2026HouseHouse/ to Governor
- Mar 16, 2026HouseHouse/ received enrolled bill from Printing
- Mar 12, 2026HouseHouse/ enrolled bill to Printing
- Mar 12, 2026Clerk of the HouseEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
- Mar 11, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingDraft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
Show 76 earlier actions
- Mar 11, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingBill Received from House for Enrolling
- Mar 11, 2026HouseHouse/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
- Mar 11, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Mar 10, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Mar 10, 2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ returned to House
- Mar 10, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ concurs with Senate amendment
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ placed on Concurrence Calendar
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ to House with amendments
- Mar 6, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ substituted
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar
- Mar 6, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044S07
- Mar 6, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0044S07
- Mar 6, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0044S07
- Mar 6, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0044S07
- Mar 4, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules
- Mar 4, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Mar 4, 2026SenateSenate/ comm rpt/ amended
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Amendment Recommendation
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Amendment Recommendation
- Mar 2, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Feb 27, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 27, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Feb 26, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Feb 26, 2026HouseFloorHouse/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 26, 2026HouseHouse/ floor amendment
- Feb 26, 2026HouseHouse/ substituted
- Feb 26, 2026HouseHouse/ uncircled
- Feb 25, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044S06
- Feb 25, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0044S06
- Feb 24, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0044S06
- Feb 24, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0044S06
- Feb 19, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044S05
- Feb 17, 2026HouseHouse/ circled
- Feb 12, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044S05
- Feb 11, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044S04
- Feb 9, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0044S05
- Feb 6, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
- Feb 5, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 5, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Substitute Recommendation
- Feb 5, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0044S05
- Feb 5, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0044S05
- Feb 5, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0044S04
- Feb 4, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044S03
- Feb 4, 2026HouseHouse/ lifted from calendar sent to standing comm
- Feb 4, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0044S04
- Feb 4, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0044S04
- Feb 3, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0044S03
- Jan 30, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044S02
- Jan 30, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0044S03
- Jan 30, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0044S03
- Jan 30, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044S01
- Jan 30, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0044S02
- Jan 29, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0044S02
- Jan 29, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0044S02
- Jan 28, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0044S01
- Jan 23, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0044S01
- Jan 23, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0044S01
- Jan 21, 2026HouseHouse/ circled
- Jan 21, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd reading
- Jan 20, 2026HouseHouse/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Jan 20, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
- Jan 20, 2026HouseHouse/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar
- Jan 20, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Jan 20, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0044
- Jan 18, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0044
- Jan 14, 2026HouseHouse/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Dec 18, 2025Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0044
- Dec 18, 2025Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0044
- Dec 18, 2025Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Dec 18, 2025Legislative 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.
Expanded Armed Personnel Integration
The legislation formally expands armed school security options by broadening the definition of armed guards to include special function officers and structuring formal county-level coordination.
Coordination with S.B. 69 Device Revisions
The bill includes explicit coordination clauses with S.B. 69 to harmonize student electronic device prohibitions during school hours.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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