Utah school and library book laws
Utah bans pornographic or indecent “sensitive materials” in K–12 and can remove a title statewide after enough local findings.
Utah HB 374 (2022) prohibits pornographic or indecent / sensitive materials in K–12 settings. HB 29 (2024), Sensitive Instructional Materials, created a review and appeal process and a statewide-removal trigger: if three districts, or two districts plus five charters, independently find a title is “objective sensitive,” it comes off statewide. USBE reported 19 titles statewide-removed as of October 27, 2025 (R277-628). These rules cover instructional and school library materials, not public libraries.
Not legal advice. Confirm the enrolled text and any injunction before changing policy. LRS is informational and must not be the sole basis for removing books.
Bills and rules
| Measure | Year | Status | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| HB 374 Sensitive materials in K–12 Prohibits pornographic or indecent / sensitive materials in K–12 settings. | 2022 | In force | School libraries |
| HB 29 Sensitive Instructional Materials statewide removal Review/appeal process; statewide removal if 3 districts, or 2 districts plus 5 charters, independently find a title is objective sensitive. | 2024 | In force | School libraries |
How BookLooky LRS addresses the concern
- Objective sexual-content criteria in Utah’s process align with Romance intensity scoring — still not a USBE determination.
- LEA reconsideration files and statewide watchlist matching are easier with a consistent catalog of LRS scores.
Story theme scores (including LGBTQ+ representation) measure presence in the plot. They are not warnings and are not a lawful stand-in for “harmful to minors.”