# Utah H.B. 204: Higher Education Student Belief Accommodation Utah H.B. 204, Higher Education Student Belief Accommodation, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Michael J. Petersen (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-25 (Governor Signed) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB204-2026GS - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah H.B. 204 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Higher Education Student Belief Accommodation - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-08 - Last action: 2026-03-25, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Michael J. Petersen (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Education, Higher Education, Technical Colleges, Utah Board of Higher Education, Colleges and Universities, Higher Education Students, Utah System of Higher Education - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 9 (151 yes, 35 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 5 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More belief accommodations for Utah students: benefit, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah public colleges must reasonably accommodate absences when academic schedules conflict with sincerely held religious or conscience beliefs. These accommodations cannot harm students' academic opportunities. In courses required for graduation or a major, colleges must also… - Neutral review for Utah student accommodation denials: benefit, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah public colleges must set request and response deadlines and protect request privacy unless law permits disclosure. Instructors must respond as soon as practical and follow college policies. Denials require prompt written reasons and notice to both the student and college… - Utah students protected from forced public opinions: benefit, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah public college instructors cannot force students to publicly present a specified position as their own. This protection covers political, social, religious, moral, and community issues. It applies to assignments such as letters, articles, online posts, and podcasts. - Clearer accommodation information for Utah students: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, the Utah Board of Higher Education must set belief-protection policies and guide colleges' accommodation rules. Colleges must name contacts and annually update online policies, contact details, religious-holiday dates, and request steps. The commissioner must annually distrib… - Required student accommodation grievance process removed: cost, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah public colleges no longer must provide a grievance process about how they carry out accommodation rules. This removes the legal requirement, not necessarily any existing college grievance process. The repeal does not specify a replacement grievance process. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Michael J. Petersen (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Brady Brammer (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-06 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 17 | 5 | | | 2026-03-06 | Senate | Senate/ floor amendment | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-06 | House | House/ concurs with Senate amendment | pass | 57 | 14 | | | 2026-02-25 | Senate | Senate Comm - Amendment Recommendation | pass | 4 | 0 | | | 2026-02-25 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 2 | 1 | | | 2026-02-17 | House | House/ floor amendment | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 54 | 14 | | | 2026-02-04 | House | House Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | | 2026-02-04 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 8 | 1 | | ## Actions (42) - 2026-03-25: Governor Signed - 2026-03-16: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-16: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2026-03-12: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2026-03-12: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-11: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-11: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2026-03-11: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2026-03-11: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-10: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-06: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ concurs with Senate amendment (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ placed on Concurrence Calendar (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ to House with amendments (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ floor amendment (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Senate/ comm rpt/ amended (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-25: Senate Comm - Amendment Recommendation - 2026-02-19: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-17: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-17: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-17: House/ floor amendment (House) - 2026-02-17: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ comm rpt/ substituted (House) - 2026-02-04: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-04: House Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-01-23: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-01-20: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-01-20: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House) - 2026-01-14: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2026-01-08: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-12: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0204.pdf) - Amended 3/6/2026 15:03:279, 2026-03-06: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0204S01_2026-03-06_15-40-13.pdf) - Amended 2/26/2026 09:02:431, 2026-02-26: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0204S01_2026-02-26_09-47-20.pdf) - Amended 2/17/2026 11:02:889, 2026-02-17: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0204S01_2026-02-17_11-58-55.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-02-04: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0204S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-08: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0204.pdf) ## Related bills - H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments (signed) - H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments (signed) - H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments (signed) - H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments (signed) - H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments (signed) - H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0204.pdf) - [Amended 3/6/2026 15:03:279 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0204S01_2026-03-06_15-40-13.pdf) - [Amended 2/26/2026 09:02:431 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0204S01_2026-02-26_09-47-20.pdf) - [Amended 2/17/2026 11:02:889 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0204S01_2026-02-17_11-58-55.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0204S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0204.pdf) ## Related - [H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB136-2026GS) - [H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB101-2026GS) - [H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB134-2026GS) - [H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB178-2026GS) - [H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB94-2026GS) - [H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB220-2026GS) - [Utah bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah/bills) - [Utah state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB204-2026GS (as of 2026-10-19).