Under The Dome: Capitol Insights from UEA

Senate Education Committee advances UEA-backed bill to include school nurses in salary adjustment

January 22, 2026

The Senate Education Committee held its first meeting of Utah’s 2026 legislative session on January 22, advancing several bills, including SB 75 — a Utah Education Association legislative priority — with multiple measures receiving unanimous support.

SB 75, Educator Salary Adjustment Eligibility, would add school-registered nurses to the legislative educator salary adjustment program, valued at $10,350 per year. Sen. Calvin Musselman presented the bill on behalf of UEA, joined by Marie Evans, a Weber Education Association member and school registered nurse. The committee passed the bill unanimously.
 

Other measures advanced by the committee include:

• SB 51, School Safety Modifications (Substitute 1): Requested by the legislative School Security Taskforce, the bill would create a process for local education agencies to share information about credible student threats when students transfer between LEAs. It passed unanimously.
• SB 69, School Device Revisions (Substitute 1): The bill would expand last year’s restriction on student cellphone use during instructional hours to a bell-to-bell prohibition, while keeping exemptions (including medical necessity and IEP plans) and adding allowances for LEA-determined exemptions. It would take effect July 1. The bill passed 6-1, with Sen. Riebe voting no, citing concerns it is “heavy-handed.”
• SB 119, School and Classroom Amendments: The bill would change how the public education economic stabilization account may be used, including allowing stabilization funds to cover the inflationary adjustment to the Weighted Pupil Unit under certain federal tax policy impacts. The bill passed 4-2.
• SB 52, Substitute Teaching Requirements Amendments: The bill would remove the requirement that long-term substitute teachers hold a teaching license. Davis Education Association President Kallyn Gren spoke in support, citing the challenges of securing long-term coverage in an emergency. The bill passed unanimously.
• SB 58, Public School Attendance Amendments: In response to concerns identified in a Utah State Board of Education audit, the bill would create uniform statewide definitions for attendance in traditional and virtual schools, along with uniform monitoring and accountability requirements for LEAs. It also would allow school community councils to use school trust funds to address chronic absenteeism. The bill passed 3-1.
• SB 88, School Technology Amendments: The bill would require LEAs to provide a parent-accessible monitoring system for student use of school-managed devices and adopt content filtering that limits access to preapproved websites and digital resources. The bill passed 3-1.

The Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee met Jan. 21, 2026, receiving a briefing from the Utah State Board of Education on its strategic plan and reviewing the public education base budget — the starting point for appropriations as lawmakers consider adjustments for inflation, enrollment changes and technical updates.

Base budget highlights presented to the subcommittee show public education funding projected to increase by about $191 million to keep up with inflation, a 4.2% increase reflected in per-student funding. The proposal also includes about $43 million added to the education stabilization account and about $19 million more for educator pay adjustments tied to growth in eligible educators.

A projected statewide enrollment decline of just over 2% is expected to reduce funding by about $28 million in the basic school program, with reductions in several programs to match lower enrollment. After offsets, ongoing funding is reduced by about $12.5 million, with a one-time $6.4 million backfill in the current year.

The presentation also notes continued decreases in school property tax rates, while total local revenue increases due to higher property values.