How HB 261 Impacts Your Classroom
What is House Bill (HB) 261?
During the 2024 General Legislature, Utah lawmakers adopted HB 261, “Equal Opportunity Initiatives,”prohibiting state higher education institutions from relying on certain individual characteristics in decisions regarding aspects of employment or education.
This bill primarily addresses the presence and function of student support services, not classroom instruction or research.Guidance issued by the Utah System of Higher Education states that identity-centered campus cultural centers “should be organizationally separate and distinct from student success and support services” and “as separate organizational units, must not provide student success and support resources” (@theU).
Within the law, lawmakers carved out protections for classroom instruction and research. Federally-funded grants approved by the Board of Trustees or the Board of Higher Education that include certain diversity expectations are allowed. Lawmakers also created an exception for an institution to establish or maintain eligibility for a federal program and to meet accreditation requirements.
This legislation went into effect on July 1, 2024. Through the Utah System of Higher Education, colleges and universities must report their compliance in 2025, and every other year after 2026.
On May 1, 2024, the President issued guidance on the application of HB 261 to the University and its community. We highly recommend you familiarize yourself with this guidance.
More information about impacts of Utah General Legislative decisions on the University of Utah community can be found in the2024 Legislature Guidance for Campus.
Guidelines for Syllabi
Our center has consulted with university leaders to provide you with updated guidance on how this bill will affect classrooms and pedagogy:
- Course content related to equity, diversity, and inclusion is protected in the legislation. Educators are not required to remove any related instructional content from their courses, and may continue to use this language in their syllabi if they so choose.
- All University course syllabi are required to list Mandatory Institutional Policies for Syllabi. These statements cover fundamental information on the American Disabilities Act, University Safety, Sexual Misconduct, and Academic Misconduct. Syllabi may also contain recommended additions like non-mandatory institutional policies and statements, information about student support resources, and other course-specific information.
- Per the EDI guidance issued by the University, we suggest that instructors include a statement in the syllabus regarding any course materials that may conflict
with students' deeply held core beliefs*. Advise students that some of the writings, lectures, films or presentations, or other
requirements in the course include materials that may present such conflicts. You
can find examples of content-specific statements that cite the applicable university
policies in our Optional Syllabus Additions under Content-Specific Additions.
- * Please be aware that PPM 6-100 recognizes Faculty will not always be able to predict in advance which, if any, materials may conflict with the beliefs of a given student or group of students.
- To comply with the law, all syllabi at the University of Utah must be available to the public. Syllabi are then linked on the University Class Schedule for prospective students to review and understand what to expect before courses start.
For mandatory courses*, instructors are required to publicly post syllabi to CIS and Simple Syllabustwo weeks prior to classes starting. For non-mandatory courses, instructors are required to publicly post syllabi to CIS one week prior to classes starting. Learn more about how to post syllabi to both CIS and Simple Syllabus.
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* USHE defines a “mandatory course” as all sections of a course required for graduation, including general education or major requirements, and for which there is no other course that meets the requirement. Learn more about the guidance issued from USHE on state requirements for syllabi and definition of "mandatory course" here.
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Guidelines for Course Content and Delivery
Courses that cover content related to equity, diversity, and inclusion issues are protected in the legislation. With that, it is always important to ensure that any content or assignments within a course are tied to the learning objectives of the course.
Sensitive issues often result in disagreements over course content. Freedom of expression in the classroom means that discussion and expression of all views relevant to course content are important and necessary to the educational process. However, students do not have the right to impinge upon the freedom of instructors to teach or the right of their peers to learn. Persistent disruptions may be referred to the Office of the Dean of Students.
Faculty Support
Our team in MBECTE will continue to provide optional trainings and consultations for instructors who seek support in ensuring high quality pedagogy and a sense of belonging for all students at the University of Utah. Departments may request workshops, or faculty may request individual consultations related to their course objectives and content.
MBECTE workshops and Communities of Practice, training institutes, and certificate programs– all of which are optional sources of pedagogy development for instructors– will continue to provide training on critical issues in higher education pedagogy in the effort to support the exceptional educational experience for every student at the University of Utah.
Have other questions? Contact our team at cte@utah.edu.