Bill allowing student suspension, misdemeanor charge for accessing porn at school advances

A bill that would suspend anyone accessing pornographic material on school property grounds, as well as being a class B misdemeanor, was passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation Tuesday.

Under HB100, viewing porn on school computers would be a crime and schools could suspend or expel students who are caught in the act.

Bill sponsor Bud Bowman, R-Cedar City, said given the serious nature of sex-related offenses there should be a law against using school resources to view pornographic material.

"There are laws already on books prohibiting many things in school but this would just make pornographic material one of those things," Bowman said.

Many school districts use filters to block out pornography sites, chat rooms and other sites that could be harmful to students.

But education leaders said it is still a problem.

"This is a very critical issue and anything we can do to curb situation the better," said Steve Peterson, executive director of the Utah School Boards Association.

Currently districts do have rules and policies prohibiting access to pornography at school but the bill would also come with teeth.

A class B misdemeanor can include penalties of up to six months in jail, and fines. Students would be turned over to juvenile authorities.