Lawmakers make revision to potty training bill
Jan 31, 2024, 6:39 PM | Updated: 7:09 pm
Ruth Summers laughs while performing an exercise with a classmate during a full-day kindergarten class at East Sandy Elementary School in Sandy on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. A House committee has passed a bill requiring potty training for kindergartners before they start school. However, it made a change first. (Ryan Sun/Deseret News)
(Ryan Sun/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah House committee has passed a bill requiring kindergartners to be fully potty-trained before they start school. However, it made a change first.
Lawmakers were worried about a part of H.B. 331 that would kick kids out of school if they weren’t potty-trained and if they had accidents.
The solution? Give schools more flexibility to call parents in to deal with a student’s accident themselves.
Bill sponsor Rep. Douglas Welton, R-Payson, said he wrote the bill after hearing from a consultant. The consultant, according to Payson, said three teachers were ready to quit because of issues related to potty training.
“They’re like, ‘This is too much of a risk. I’m not going to risk potty-training a kid … They need to come potty-trained and ready to go,'” Welton said.
The bill does have exceptions for students with disabilities.
It will now go to the full House for consideration.
