House panel advances bill to bar school governance agreements used in Salt Lake City district

Rep. Suzanne Peterson, sponsor of House Bill 545, told the House Education Committee the measure responds to two legislative performance audits of the Salt Lake City School District and ongoing concerns about that district’s shared governance agreement.

"There was a follow-up audit related to this issue," Rep. Peterson said, noting audits from 2022 and 2024 and adding that the bill is intended to address the district’s shared governance model. "It just says basically that a school district may not enter into or renew an agreement with a private association that delegates their decision making authority or governance, and that they can't delegate decision making authority or governance to a council or committee at a school."

The bill targets the district’s written agreements with its teachers’ association that create school improvement or shared governance councils with decision authority at the site level. Peterson described several problems cited in the audits and by parents and principals: scheduling changes at the school level that disrupted bus runs, reduced instructional hours at one high school, limits on principals’ ability to set professional learning for staff, and local councils overriding district policies. She said, for example, a schedule change at Bryant Elementary caused about 165 West High students to wait an additional 30 minutes for bus pickup each day, equating to roughly 70 extra hours a year.

The measure includes exceptions for ordinary principal duties (for example spending of trust lands funds and TSSA money). Peterson said the bill was drafted to avoid unintentionally capturing other collaborative arrangements such as PTAs, joint leadership councils or agreements with charter schools; the committee adopted an amendment clarifying charter‑school language.

Opponents and public commenters urged caution. Mike Harmon, president of the Salt Lake Education Association, told the committee the bill "really doesn't change our relationship with the district as we have recognized the authority of our school boards" but warned of unintended conflicts with other legal arrangements and cited "state code 534402" and the school board association's joint leadership council as potential touchpoints. Tom Henriot, a parent, and other parents described experiences where school improvement councils or other bodies overrode local consensus and where transparency and accountability were lacking.

Committee members pressed the sponsor on local control and on whether the bill would erode teachers' voices. Peterson said she supports teacher input and credited other collaborative district models across the state, but argued that the shared governance structure in Salt Lake City had produced confusion about accountability and inconsistent districtwide policy enforcement. She said the legislature routinely sets government structures and leaves implementation to local boards.

The committee adopted Amendment 1 to clarify treatment of charter school agreements. It then voted to favorably recommend HB 545 as amended out of committee. The committee recorded the final committee tally as 11 votes in favor and 2 opposed; Representatives Karen Moss and Jenifer Hayes registered no votes.

What’s next: HB 545 was advanced from committee as amended and will move to the House floor for further consideration.