(1) As used in this section:
- (a) "Debate" means an event at which two or more presenters advocate for opposing or diverse approaches to a public policy issue and rebut each other's positions.
(b) "Formal administrative unit" means:
- (i) an office or division under the direct supervision of the president or president's cabinet; or
- (ii) an academic department, college, institute, or center within an institution.
- (c) "Presenter" means an individual whom an institution invites or authorizes to present at or facilitate a public policy event.
(d) "Public policy event" means a debate or event with multiple presenters that:
- (i) addresses, from multiple, divergent, and opposing perspectives, a range of public policy issues;
- (ii) an institution designates under Subsection (2)(a); and
- (iii) a formal administrative unit organizes or authorizes under this section.
(2) A degree-granting institution shall:
- (a) establish practices that will introduce campus communities to diverse viewpoints, including designating public policy events to host during each regular academic year;
(b)
- (i) ensure that at least some public policy events are debates;
- (ii) invite presenters from within and outside the institution;
(iii) ensure that public policy events are open to:
- (A) all students, faculty, and staff of the institution; and
- (B) the general public, unless the institution restricts individuals who are not affiliated with the institution to achieve a compelling governmental interest; and
- (iv) seek presenters who represent differing views; and
(c) maintain and update a publicly accessible and searchable calendar online:
- (i) that lists all public policy events that are open to the general public; and
(ii) that includes, for each public policy event:
- (A) the title of the event;
- (B) the name and, where applicable, institutional affiliation of each presenter; and
- (C) the name of the formal administrative unit that organizes and stages the event.
(3)
- (a) Nothing in Subsection (2) requires an exact balance between presenters of differing viewpoints.
- (b) Nothing in this section prohibits an institution from inviting an individual speaker or a panel who articulates a singular or specific perspective, as described in Subsection 53H-1-504(3)(a)(iv).
Enacted by Chapter 438, 2026 General Session