Gov. Cox holds ceremonial bill signing for five education bills
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- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox participates in a ceremonial signing of five education bills at Davis Technical College on Monday, April 14, 2025.
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- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at a ceremonial signing of five education bills at Davis Technical College on Monday, April 14, 2025.
KAYSVILLE — It was a busy session for the Utah Legislature in terms of education this year. Driving this point home, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox visited Davis Technical College for a ceremonial bill signing meant to highlight the Legislature’s work on education during the 2025 session. He signed five bills during the half-hour ceremony.
“If anyone should ever question the commitment of the Legislature and the executive branch to education, I would encourage them to look at the bills that were passed this session, last session and the funding that continues to drive the innovation that’s happening here,” he said.
Monday’s ceremony briefly highlighted five bills and the legislators who helped introduce them. This included:
- House Bill 219, which modifies provisions in the Charter School Credit Enhancement Program.
- House Bill 260, which replaces the PRIME program to create the First Credential program.
- House Bill 381, which is meant to enhance civics education in the state.
- House Bill 447, which establishes a grant program to help local education agencies create or expand catalyst centers.
- Senate Bill 162, which establishes a statewide talent portal for high-demand jobs and creates a cooperative education program.
Speaking on H.B. 381, Rep. Douglas Welton (R-Payson) said the legislation is meant to emphasize the importance of civics in students’ lives.
“Civics is a place that everyone engages in,” he said. “It doesn’t matter whether you like politics or not, everyone engages in civics. What this does is it puts a greater focus on our founding principles and institutions and our documents, including study of the Utah Constitution — something that few people in this state have ever read.”
Speaking on H.B. 447, House Speaker Mike Schultz (R-Hooper), who sponsored the bill, said the legislation is meant to help boost career and technical education for high school students.
“Technical education has been left behind for several decades now inside our public education system,” he said. “Our workforce, our businesses, our citizens and our kids are really wanting more opportunities in technical education. This bill expands that.”
Cox said the state has adequate resources to go forward with these expanded programs.
“There is enough funding to move these programs forward in a big way,” he said. “Helping to prioritize that funding is so important.”
He added that legislation like this is ultimately inspired by the local level.
“A lot of these bills came out of local requests,” he said. “The best ideas are coming from there; we just need to give them the tools, the funding and the programs they’re requesting and let them do it.”
