Votes at a glance: Board repeals kindergarten rule, adopts student toilet-training requirements

The Utah State Board of Education recorded the following formal actions during the meeting.

R277-489 — Repeal of kindergarten programs and assessments - Motion: Repeal R277-489 (kindergarten programs and assessment) on second and final reading. - Outcome: Approved unanimously; the transcript notes Members Lear and Hart were absent when the vote was taken. - Vote: Recorded as unanimous among members present (transcript: "passes unanimously with members Lear and member Hart absent"). - Notes: Staff had presented rationale as part of the law-and-licensing committee; the transcript did not list additional implementation details during the floor vote.

R277-631 — Student toilet training requirements - Motion: Approve R277-631 (student toilet training requirements) draft 4 on second and final reading, as amended. - Key amendments and committee discussion: The board reinstated specific language requiring LEAs to adopt policies for parental designees assisting with toilet training and revised the text to allow LEAs to either require a background check for a parent's designee entering a public multi-stall restroom or to provide/clear a private restroom. The board also struck a line that would have allowed an LEA to pass background-check costs to parents after staff noted current law prohibits passing those costs. - Outcome: Approved on second and final reading; the transcript records the final passage as unanimous. - Notes: Staff and counsel clarified that state law requires background checks for volunteers who have unsupervised access to students; boards and LEAs retain discretion to determine how policies are implemented locally.

Other procedural notes - R277-609 and related LRBI items were noted as scheduled for committee the following day and were not on the floor for action.