House adopts third substitute of SB 226 extending student-data protections to higher education

The House adopted a third substitute to Senate Bill 226 on March 2, extending student-data privacy protections used in K–12 to institutions of higher education and adjusting the Utah Data Resource Center duties.

Representative Jefferson Moss, the floor sponsor, said the bill institutes the same provisions adopted in the Student Data Privacy Act for higher-education institutions and narrows data-research duties for the Utah System of Higher Education to collect and safeguard certain student information and control access.

Representative Hawkins offered a voice amendment to strike the phrase "as authorized by contract" on a subsection to align higher-education language with existing K–12 statute; Moss characterized the change as technical and friendly and supported the amendment.

With no further discussion, the House voted and passed the third substitute of SB 226 by a recorded vote of 73 yes to 0 no.

What’s next: The measure will proceed in the legislative process; the amendment aligns contract authorization language between K–12 and higher-education statutory text.