The Utah Legislature ended its 2025 session on March 7th, having passed 582 bills and allocating $30.8 billion for fiscal year 2026.
Public education saw a 4% increase in the weighted pupil unit (WPU), $47.4 million for teacher salary increases, $45.2 million for educator support professional bonuses, $40 million ongoing for the Utah Fits All Scholarship, $65 million for “Catalyst Centers” and more. Higher education saw allocations that included money for performance funding, the St. George medical school, enrollment changes, an accelerated nursing degree pilot program and money for technical college equipment improvements, as well as a $60 million reduction in funds.
In addition to fiscal allocations, here is a snapshot of some of the education bills passed by the Utah legislature this year.
K-12
HB267 by Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, bans collective bargaining for all public sector unions. That includes the Utah Education Association, which is the teachers’ union, as well as unions representing firefighters, police officers, 911 dispatchers, transit workers and others. A new organization, Protect Utah Workers, has launched a citizen’s referendum to get the issue on the ballot and ultimately get the new law overturned.
Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, ran a bill to help expand or create “catalyst centers” for high school students. While presenting the bill during the legislative session, Schultz said, “For decades, CTE (career and technical education) training has kind of taken a back seat inside of our public education system.”
HB447 provides $65 million in one-time funds to support schools and school districts with technical education that aligns with workforce needs. Grant money could be used for capital expenditures, to modify classrooms and to buy up-to-date equipment, as well as other expenses needed to expand CTE offerings around the state.
HB260 by Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, and Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, creates a “First Credential” program for high school students and will provide opportunities for industry-recognized credentials to be obtained before leaving high school. It also promotes “stackable” certificates, which enable students to seamlessly transfer certificates earned by attending a technical college to a degree-granting institution. A master list of credentials will be created and workforce needs will be prioritized.
HB157 by Rep. Colin Jack, R-St. George, and Sen. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, requires Utah’s Office of Energy Development to establish the Energy Education and Workforce Development Advisory Group and develop and maintain energy education programs and curricula for grades K-12, professional training for educators, and workforce-aligned programs in the energy sector.
The Utah Fits All scholarship has some new funding guidelines and accountability guardrails under HB455 by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman. Homeschooled “Utah Fits All” students 5 to 11 years old will have access to $4,000 a year, while those 12 to 18 years old will get $6,000. Private school students are still eligible for $8,000 a year, the previous amount available to all. The new law also limits extracurricular expenses to 20% of the scholarship amount and limits physical education expenses to an additional 20%. Also — families can’t buy furniture with this money.
No cellphones, smart watches or other devices will be allowed in schools under SB178 by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan. This bill will go into effect this summer, impacting the 2025/2026 school year. While local schools and districts can create their own policies that are different, this is now the default policy across the state.
HB104 by Rep. Rex Shipp, R-Cedar City, requires schools to teach firearm safety, beginning as early as kindergarten. The instruction would be required three times during elementary school, at least once in junior high and at least once in high school. The proposed instruction would likely be short, just five to 10 minutes in length and delivered via video instruction. Parents can opt out if they choose.
HB77 Flag Display Amendments by Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, prohibits a government entity or employee of a government entity from displaying a flag in or on the grounds of government property except the U.S. flag; the Utah state flag; the official flag of another country or state; a municipal or county flag; military flags, including POW/MIA flags; flags that represent Native American tribes, colleges, universities, the Olympics and Paralympics; and official public school flags. Violations of this law can result in fines of $500 per day.
HB100 Food Security Amendments by Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, will provide free school lunch for students who qualify for reduced school lunch under federal guidelines. The bill will impact 40,000 Utah students. The bill also prevents schools from identifying students who are receiving free meals and encourages them to have “share tables” where unopened or sealed food can be put for others to take and eat.
Higher education
HB265 Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment by Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton, is a major bill impacting Utah’s eight public colleges and universities. It requires those schools to submit a plan that would reallocate funding to programs with enough student interest and that align with today’s market demands. The state cut $60 million of the higher education budget this year, or 10%, but higher education institutions can get some or all of that money back if they get approval from the Executive Appropriations Committee after presenting their reallocation plan.
HB269 Privacy Protections in Sex-Designated Areas by Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, requires colleges and universities to allow individuals to live in gender-segregated dorms only if their biological sex at birth is the same as the dorm’s designation. This bill came after a roommate assignment at Utah State University put freshman Avery Saltzman and sophomore Marcie Robertson, a transgender resident assistant, together. Under this bill, higher education institutions can provide gender-segregated dorms and gender-inclusive dorms.
HB479 Student Athlete Revisions by Rep. Sahara Hayes, D-Salt Lake City and Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, allows higher education institutions to pay student athletes directly for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). The new law prohibits the use of legislative appropriations, tuition or fees to pay student athletes, keeps NIL agreements private and requires an audit every five years to look at how schools spend NIL money. It also adds a requirement for degree-granting institutions to adopt a policy to address abusive coaching practices.
HB142 and SB17 remove residency requirements for in-state tuition for members of the military, veterans, and Department of Defense employees and their families.
SB334, Center for Civic Excellence at Utah State University by Sen. John Johnson, R-North Ogden, establishes a new center to develop and pilot a new curricular approach to general education requirements and provides $551,100 in ongoing funds to support the center. Under this pilot program, the center will be required to “replace the existing distribution model of general education with a coherent curriculum” that engages students in “civil and rigorous intellectual inquiry” based on “foundational primary texts” that represent “the best of what has been thought and said.” The center would also be responsible for the appointment and evaluation of all instructors who teach general education classes.