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Senate approves Individual Freedom in Public Education bill after heated debate over scope and amendments
Summary
Second Substitute House Bill 427, which would enshrine individual freedom principles into state education code, passed the Utah Senate after extended floor debate about costs, curriculum impact and specific language. A proposed amendment to insert 'gender identity' into the protected list was proposed, reconsidered and ultimately failed on a division vote before the bill passed 18‑6.
Senator Kennedy, sponsor of Second Substitute House Bill 427, presented legislation that would add specified "individual freedom" principles to the state education code and require local education agencies to provide an annual assurance to the State Board of Education that certain professional learning and instructional practices adhere to those principles. Kennedy said the measure is intended to make those protections "referenceable" and enforceable in statute rather than only aspirational.
Opponents pressed two central questions during floor debate: whether removing the fiscal note made the measure an unfunded mandate on school districts and whether the bill’s descriptive language — notably provisions describing merit, character traits and what constitutes discrimination — would interfere with classroom…
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