# Utah H.B. 502: School Attendance Modifications Utah H.B. 502, School Attendance Modifications, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Doug Welton (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-19 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB502-2026GS - As of: 2026-10-14 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah H.B. 502 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: School Attendance Modifications - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-02-05 - Last action: 2026-03-19, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Doug Welton (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Education, K-12 Education, Higher Education, State Board of Education, Utah Board of Higher Education, State Tax Commission, Revenue and Taxation, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), Scholarships and Financial Aid, Standards and Curriculum - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 11 (168 yes, 70 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 5 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - College scholarships reward students' exemplary citizenship: benefit, medium. The law creates Citizenship Scholarships for eligible students attending Utah public colleges and universities, including residents and nonresidents. Eligibility uses citizenship grades and attendance records, with priority for students showing exemplary citizenship throughout high school. Students… - High school students can test out: benefit, medium. Starting in 2027–2028, school agencies must offer statewide test-out options for students in grades 9–12. Students can earn credit without enrolling by showing proficiency through state-approved assessments or portfolios. Options cover English, math, science, social studies, and other courses requi… - Tax filers can fund citizenship scholarships: cost, low. The law takes effect May 6, 2026, with tax provisions applying retroactively to tax years beginning January 1, 2026. Resident and nonresident Utah income tax filers can voluntarily give money to the Citizenship Scholarship Fund on their returns. The Tax Commission must transfer collected money to t… - Attendance affects grades, with caps and safeguards: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, teachers in grades 7–12 can count attendance for up to 10% of a final course grade. Local school agencies can allow more than 10%, but never more than 20%, through a public policy listing courses and percentages. Policies above 10% must allow valid excused absences to be excl… - Parents can decline new citizenship grades: mixed, low. Starting in 2027–2028, local school agencies can adopt citizenship grades under statewide standards. These grades measure attendance, meeting deadlines, participation, and teacher communication, with state guidance for recording them on transcripts. School agencies must adopt citizenship grading to… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Doug Welton (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Michael K. McKell (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-05 | House | House/ concurs with Senate amendment | pass | 46 | 22 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate/ failed | fail | 12 | 16 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate/ motion to reconsider | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 20 | 9 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2026-02-26 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 51 | 21 | | | 2026-02-26 | House | House/ floor amendment | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | House Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 11 | 0 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 9 | 2 | | | 2026-02-18 | House | House Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | ## Actions (46) - 2026-03-19: Governor Signed - 2026-03-11: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-11: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2026-03-07: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2026-03-07: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-06: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-06: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2026-03-05: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ concurs with Senate amendment (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ placed on Concurrence Calendar (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ to House with amendments (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ motion to reconsider (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ failed (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-03-04: Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-02-27: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-26: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ floor amendment (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ comm rpt/ substituted (House) - 2026-02-20: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-20: House Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-02-18: House Comm - Held - 2026-02-18: House Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-02-12: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-02-12: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2026-02-05: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-07: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0502.pdf) - Substitute #4, 2026-03-04: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502S04.pdf) - Amended 2/26/2026 19:02:70, 2026-02-26: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0502S03_2026-02-26_19-50-20.pdf) - Substitute #3, 2026-02-19: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502S03.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2026-02-18: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502S02.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-02-17: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-02-05: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502.pdf) ## Related bills - H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments (signed) - H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments (signed) - H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments (signed) - H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments (signed) - H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments (signed) - H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0502.pdf) - [Substitute #4 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502S04.pdf) - [Amended 2/26/2026 19:02:70 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0502S03_2026-02-26_19-50-20.pdf) - [Substitute #3 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502S03.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502S02.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0502.pdf) ## Related - [H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB94-2026GS) - [H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB101-2026GS) - [H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB178-2026GS) - [H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB134-2026GS) - [H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB136-2026GS) - [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-HB502-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).