House passes bill suspending automatic Test-to-Stay trigger, gives state leaders authority to reinstate program

The Utah House passed House Bill 183 on Jan. 19, changing how schools may resume remote instruction and how the Test to Stay program is implemented during public-health emergencies. Representative Andrew Tusher, sponsor of the bill, told colleagues the measure “removes the requirement that a school implement Test to Stay when they have hit the threshold” and instead allows the program to be reinstated only if the governor, the speaker of the House, the senate president and the state superintendent jointly determine it is effective.

Supporters said the change responds to operational problems that surfaced during the Omicron surge. “During the last year in the Jordan School District, we didn't have a single high school that had over 50 cases,” Tusher said, while contrasting that with a recent local spike: “This last week, our Copper Hills High School had over 500 cases.” He argued Test to Stay was not practical under current conditions and that the bill adds clarity about when schools can go remote and how long temporary remote periods last.

Opponents, including Representative Brian King, urged more public input. King noted HB 183 “has not had a committee hearing, for the public or for those other interested parties to weigh in,” and said he would prefer a regular committee process to provide public comment. Tusher responded that state leaders had previously suspended Test to Stay and that the bill simply provides statutory clarity for an urgent, operational need.

Other members described local implementation problems: Representative Perucci said testing operations were slow in one district, forcing instructional disruption, and Representative Ballard pressed whether the bill prevents local districts or health departments from adopting their own test-to-stay approaches; the sponsor said it does not. Representative Quandt asked why the bill does not require a time frame for state-level decisions after a school submits a request; the sponsor said urgency and the content of a submitted letter would prompt appropriate action.

The House ended debate on a motion to call the previous question and passed HB 183 by a vote of 57 yes and 17 no; the bill will be transmitted to the Senate for consideration. The bill does not itself specify detailed subjective criteria for weighing in-person instruction against remote learning, relying on the standard established in the earlier SB 107 and on the joint decision of the named state leaders.

Next steps: HB 183 goes to the Utah Senate for consideration; the House record shows the sponsor and several members urged that further refinements could be made through the regular committee process in subsequent legislation.