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Committee advances HB 40 with substitute to tighten school safety, cybersecurity and training requirements
Summary
The committee adopted a first substitute of HB 40 and passed it out favorably. The bill updates school safety needs assessments, sets an earlier October 15 deadline for assessments, requires minimum cybersecurity standards, expands annual training, and funds items such as bleed kits and AED planning.
The House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on voice votes adopted a substitute for House Bill 40 and voted to pass the bill out favorably. Sponsors and law enforcement and education officials described the measure as the product of a multi-year task force and statewide collaboration.
Representative Wilcox, the bill sponsor, described HB 40 as “the follow-up to the bills that we've worked on in school security for the past 3 years.” He said the bill moves school safety needs assessments to an earlier deadline — October 15 — so state policymakers can use that data in budget processes. Wilcox said the measure also directs the state security chief to establish minimum cybersecurity standards for schools after recent data breaches, including incidents involving PowerSchool and Granite School District.
Chief Matt Pennington of the Department of Public Safety’s Division of State Security testified in support and described repeated stakeholder outreach. “Everyone seems to be supportive,” Pennington told the committee, noting ongoing work with districts and school leaders.
The bill expands training requirements, moving certain training to an annual cadence, clarifies county security chief roles for local law enforcement, requires planning for AEDs and key access for first responders, and adds simpler in-room identifiers to speed emergency response, the sponsor said. Wilcox also said the Legislature moved some items “above the line” in budgeting: the task force previously funded bleed kits and first-aid supplies so districts would not need to apply for grants for those items.
Witnesses who spoke in favor included Brian William, chief of the Lone Peak Police Department and president of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, and Chantal CODA, director of school safety and student services at the Utah State Board of Education, who described collaborative work with the sponsor. Representative Ballard moved adoption of the substitute and the committee approved both the substitute and the motion to pass the bill out favorably by voice votes.
Wilcox noted the proposal builds on previous work and represents a broad stakeholder effort. The committee did not record roll-call vote tallies in the transcript.
