Restorative Justice Legislation in Utah
HR1 – Urging Restorative Justice in Utah’s Education System
House Resolution 1 – Urging Restorative Justice in Utah’s Education System was adopted by the Utah Legislature during the 2018 General Session and filed with the Office of the Lieutenant Governor on March 16, 2018.
HR 1 encourages the Utah State Board of Education and Utah’s school districts to implement school-wide restorative justice practices in the state’s public primary and secondary schools.
Text of HR 1: https://le.utah.gov/~2018/bills/static/HR0001.html
HB 239 – Juvenile Justice Amendments and HB 132 Juvenile Justice Modifications
House Bill 239 – Juvenile Justice Amendments was passed during the Utah Legislature’s 2017 General Session and signed by Governor Herbert on March 24, 2017. The provisions HB 239 were based on recommendations from the Utah Juvenile Justice Working Group, which was comprised of 19 stakeholders representing all areas of the juvenile justice system.
HB 239 sought to improve Utah’s juvenile justice system by, among other things, expanding and strengthening effective early intervention and diversion. In particular, HB 239 prohibited schools for making referrals to law enforcement or juvenile court for truancy and for the following kinds of offenses committed on school grounds: class C misdemeanors, infractions, and status offenses. As an alternative, HB2 39 allowed schools to make referrals for these offenses to alternative interventions, including mobile crisis outreach teams, receiving centers operated by the Division of Juvenile Justice System, youth courts, and other restorative justice programs.
Text of HB 239: https://le.utah.gov/~2017/bills/static/HB0239.html
House Bill 132 Juvenile Justice Modifications was passed during the Utah Legislature’s 2018 General Session and signed by Governor Herbert on March 16, 2018. HB 132 sought to fine-tune HB 239 by clarifying the role of school resource officers and by adding to the list of evidence-based interventions available for school referrals in the event of alleged Class C misdemeanors, infractions, status offenses on school property, or truancy.
Text of HB 132: https://le.utah.gov/~2018/bills/static/HB0132.html
Utah Code §§53G-4-402 and 53G-211, as amended by HB 239 and HB 132:
https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53G/Chapter4/53G-4-S402.html
https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53G/Chapter8/53G-8-S211.html?v=C53G-8-S211_2018031620180316
HB 120 – Student and School Safety Assessment
House Bill 120 – Student and School Safety Assessment was passed during the Utah Legislature’s 2019 General Session and signed by Governor Herbert on March 28, 2019. The final version of HB 120, which was significantly pared down from the original proposal, requires the Utah State Board of Education to create model policies for student safety and support, to provide training to schools in a number of areas, including evidence-based approaches to improve school climate and address and correct bullying behavior, and to develop a model school climate survey.
Text of HB 120: https://le.utah.gov/~2019/bills/static/HB0120.html
Utah Code §§53-G-801 to 53G-8-802, as amended by HB 120
https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53G/Chapter8/53G-8-S801.html
https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53G/Chapter8/53G-8-S802.html
HB 373 – Student Support Amendments
House Bill 373 – Student Support Amendments was passed during the Utah Legislature’s 2019 General Session and signed by Governor Herbert on March 28, 2019. House Bill 373 creates a $27 million matching grant program for school districts to hire or contract with school counselors, psychologists, social workers, or nurses to provide school-based mental health.
Text of HB 353: https://le.utah.gov/~2019/bills/static/HB0373.html
Utah Code $53F-2-415, as amended by HB 373