Education

Administration

Rule 409: Public School Membership in Associations

Effective Date: 10/08/2026

Admin. Code Reference: R277-409

Rule Type: Current Rule

NOTICE OF SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE

TYPE OF FILING: Amendment

Filing ID: 58159

Rule or section number:

R277-409

1. Agency Information

Title catchline:

Education, Administration

Building:

Board of Education

Street address:

250 E 500 S

City, state:

Salt Lake City, UT

Mailing address:

PO Box 144200

City, state and zip:

Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4200

2. Contact Persons

Name:

Phone:

Email:

Elisse Newey

801-538-7500

Elisse.newey@schools.utah.gov

Please address questions regarding information on this notice to the persons listed above.

3. General Information

A. Rule or section catchline:

R277-409. Public School Membership in Associations

B. Purpose of the new rule or reason for the change:

These amendments are needed to clarify limitations on public school membership in certain associations with rules or policies that conflict with the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) policies.

C. Summary of the new rule or change:

These amendments specify that beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, a public school may not be a member of, or pay dues to, an association that adopts rules or policies that are inconsistent with this rule or Utah Code.

Additional changes are being made to simplify and clarify language.

5. Fiscal Information

Provide an estimate and written explanation of the aggregate anticipated cost or savings to:

A. State budget:

This amendment is not expected to have fiscal impact on state government revenues or expenditures.

Striking the outdated temporal reference is an administrative text cleanup.

Explicitly incorporating compliance with "Utah Code" reinforces alignment between interscholastic governing associations (such as the Utah High School Activities Association) and state statutory requirements.

The USBE does not pay association membership dues or directly administer interscholastic activities.

Furthermore, this change requires no new state-level monitoring software, Full-Time Equivalency (FTE) staffing, or administrative appropriations.

Consequently, there are no incremental costs or savings to the state budget.

B. Local governments:

This amendment is not expected to have fiscal impact on local governments' revenues or expenditures.

Clarifying in rule that an association's policies cannot conflict with Utah Code formally aligns administrative rule language with existing legal obligations without creating new membership fees, reporting pipelines, or operational tasks for school districts or charter schools.

Striking the obsolete 2017-2018 start-date text similarly imposes no procedural burden.

Because no additional outlays or administrative tasks are required of local education agencies, local governments will experience no incremental costs or savings.

C. Small businesses ("small business" means a business employing 1-49 persons):

This amendment is not expected to have fiscal impact on small businesses' revenues or expenditures.

This administrative rule applies exclusively to public schools and non-profit/governing interscholastic associations in which public schools hold membership.

It contains no regulatory provisions, tax changes, or compliance mandates that apply to commercial entities or small businesses.

Therefore, it will have zero aggregate economic impact on small businesses.

D. Non-small businesses ("non-small business" means a business employing 50 or more persons):

There are no non-small businesses in the industry in question, Elementary and Secondary Schools (North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 611110). Because there are no non-small businesses, they do not account for any service delivery for Elementary and Secondary Schools. Therefore, non-small businesses are not expected to receive increased or decreased revenues per year. This proposed rule change is not expected to have any fiscal impact on non-small businesses' revenues or expenditures because there are no applicable non-small businesses, and it does not require any expenditures of, or generate revenue for non-small businesses.

E. Persons other than small businesses, non-small businesses, state, or local government entities ("person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or public or private organization of any character other than an agency):

This amendment is not expected to have fiscal impact on revenues or expenditures for persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local government entities.

The updates establish that associations governing public school interscholastic activities must maintain rules consistent with state statutes.

This change does not alter student participation fees, introduce personal financial liabilities, or impact out-of-pocket expenses for parents, students, coaches, or taxpayers as an aggregate class.

F. Compliance costs for affected persons:

There are no compliance costs for affected persons.

No individual person, student, coach, or school administrator is required to complete new tasks, purchase hardware/software, or pay additional fees as a result of aligning association policy requirements with Utah Code or removing an outdated date reference.

Consequently, the incremental compliance cost per individual entity within any affected class is $0.

6. Regulatory Impact Summary Table

Enter the cost or savings in the relevant cell. If there is no cost or savings, enter, "$0." If a cost or savings is inestimable, enter, "inestimable."

Fiscal Cost

FY2027

FY2028

FY2029

FY2030

FY2031

State Budget

Local Governments

Small Businesses

Non-Small Businesses

Other Persons

Total Fiscal Cost

Fiscal Benefits

FY2027

FY2028

FY2029

FY2030

FY2031

State Budget

Local Governments

Small Businesses

Non-Small Businesses

Other Persons

Total Fiscal Benefits

Net Fiscal Benefits

7. Regulatory Impact Analysis Approval

The State Superintendent of the Utah State Board of Education, Molly Hart, has reviewed and approved this regulatory impact analysis.

8. Family Impact Information

A. The agency has considered this rule's impact on family health, stability, and formation:

☒

9. Citation Information

Provide citations to the statutory authority for the rule. If there is also a federal requirement for the rule, provide a citation to that requirement:

Utah Constitution, Article X, Section 3

Subsection 53E-3-401(4)

11. Public Notice Information

The public may submit written or oral comments to the agency identified in box 1.

A. Comments will be accepted until:

10/01/2026

12. Effective Date Information

This rule change MAY become effective on:

(NOTE: This is the date the agency anticipates making the filing effective. It is NOT the effective date)

10/08/2026

13. Agency Authorization Information

Agency head or

designee and title:

Elisse Newey, Deputy Superintendent of

Policy

Date:

08/14/2026

R277. Education, Administration.

R277-409. Public School Membership in Associations.

R277-409-1. Authority and Purpose.

(1) This rule is authorized by:

(a) Utah Constitution Article X, Section 3, which vests general control and supervision over public education in the Board; and

(b) Subsection 53E-3-401(4), which allows the Board to make rules to execute the Board's duties and responsibilities under the Utah Constitution and state law.

(2) The purpose of this rule is to place limitations on public school membership in certain associations with rules or policies that conflict with Board policies.

R277-409-2. Definitions.

(1) "Association" means an organization that governs or regulates a student's participation in an interscholastic activity.

(2) "Interscholastic activity" means an activity within the state in which the students that participate represent a school in the activity.

(3) "Recruiting" means a solicitation or conversation:

(a) initiated by:

(i) an employee of a school or school district;

(ii) a coach or advisor of an interscholastic activity; or

(iii) a member of a booster, alumni, or other organization that performs a substantially similar role as a booster organization, affiliated with a school or school district; and

(b) to influence a student, or the student's relative or legal guardian, to transfer to a school for the purpose of participating in an interscholastic activity at the school.

(4) "Sex offender" has the same meaning as described in Section 77-27-21.7.

R277-409-3. Membership Restrictions.

(1) [Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, a]A public school may not be a member of, or pay dues to, an association that adopts rules

or policies that are inconsistent with [this]Section R277-409-3 or Utah Code.

(2) An association shall permit the Board to audit the association's:

(a) financial statements; and

(b) compliance with Utah Code, Board rule, and the association's bylaws, policies, rules, and best practices.

(3) An association may not treat similarly situated schools differently in the association's designation of division classifications, or in applying other association policies, based solely on the school's status as a charter school or district public school.

(4) An association may sanction a school, coach, or individual who oversees or works with students as part of an interscholastic activity of a public school if the association finds that the coach or individual:

(a) engaged in recruiting activities; or

(b) violated any other rule or policy of the association.

(5) An association shall establish a policy or rule to govern the association's use of student data that complies with the student data privacy requirements of:

(a) FERPA;

(b) Title 53E, Chapter 9, Part 3, Student Data Protection[ Act];

(d) Rule R277-484.

(6) An association shall establish policies or rules that require:

(a) coaches and individuals who oversee interscholastic activities or work with students as part of an interscholastic activity to meet a set of professional standards that are consistent with the Utah Educator Professional Standards described in Rule R277-217; and

(b) the association or public school to annually train each coach or other individual who oversees or works with students as part of an interscholastic activity of a public school on the following:

(i) child sexual abuse prevention as described in Section 53G-9-207;

(ii) the prevention of bullying, cyber-bullying, hazing, harassment, and retaliation as described in:

(A) Title 53G, Chapter 9, Part 6, Bullying and Hazing; and

(B) Rule R277-613; and

(iii) the professional standards described in Subsection (6)(a).

(7) An association shall establish procedures and mechanisms to:

(a) monitor LEA compliance with the association's training requirements described in Subsection (6);

(b) sanction individuals who violate the association's professional standards described in Subsection (6)(a);

(d) prohibit individuals who have violated the association's standards described in Subsection (6)(a), including sex offenders, from coaching, managing, overseeing, training, or working with students as part of an interscholastic activity.

(8) An association shall establish a policy or rule that requires the association to follow requirements similar to the requirements of:

(a) Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public Meetings Act; and

(b) Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act.

KEY: schools, memberships, associations

Date of Last Change: [August 12, 2020]2026

Notice of Continuation: August 19, 2021

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: Art X Sec 3; 53E-3-401(4)

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