New York, NY; March 25, 2025—Today, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed into law state Senate Bill 334, “Center for Civic Excellence at Utah State University.” The bill, sponsored by Utah Senator John Johnson, was inspired by the General Education Act, model legislation from the Ethics & Public Policy Center, the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, and the National Association of Scholars. We are delighted that Senate Bill 334 has been passed into law, and congratulate Governor Cox, Senator Johnson, and every Utah state legislator who voted for the bill for bringing new excellence to Utah’s system of public higher education.
Upon signing the bill, Utah Governor Spencer Cox released the following statement:
H.B. 381, Civics Education Amendments (Rep. Welton) and S.B. 334, Center for Civics Excellence at Utah State (Sen. Johnson) are two of the most important bills of the 2025 legislative session. I’m excited to sign both today. Since our founding, our civic responsibilities have been a fundamental part of education, however in recent decades we have strayed from these basic education requirements. Foundational civic education in our high schools will aid our students with a better understanding of our government institutions and their critical role in American society.
Stanley Kurtz, Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and co-author of the General Education Act, said, “This is the boldest and most potentially consequential legislative reform of higher education in living memory. The well-attested power of state legislatures over general education requirements should be the cornerstone of systemic reform at America's public universities.”
The bill creates a new Center for Civic Excellence at Utah State University and places the responsibility for all general education courses in the new center. It also requires every student at Utah State University to take a year-and-a-half course in Western civilization and an additional one-semester course in American civics. The new center will be rooted in the principles of classic liberal education.
The bill, as adopted, differs from the General Education Act model legislation–which is as it should be, since the bill was crafted for each state’s policymakers to adapt to their local circumstances. That said, Senate Bill 334 does alter the General Education Act’s language in ways that delegates much of the content of these new general education courses to Utah State University’s professors, and places substantial trust in them that they will teach these courses in the spirit intended by Utah’s legislators.
David Randall, Director of Research at the National Association of Scholars and co-author of the General Education Act, said, “We urge Utah’s legislators to conduct oversight of the new Center for Civic Excellence in the next years, to ensure that Utah State University’s faculty execute the spirit and the letter of Senate Bill 334. If they do not, we urge Utah’s legislators to consider further bills that will ensure that Utah State University faculty, and faculty at other public universities in Utah, teach general education along the lines desired by Utah’s citizens and policymakers.”
Regardless, Senate Bill 334 is poised to transform general education at Utah State and potentially other public universities. The bill lays the foundation at Utah State but anticipates extending the model to every student at every public university in Utah.
“I’m hopeful that Utah will be the first of many states to reform their general education curriculum based on our model,” said Martin Center president Jenna Robinson, the co-author of the General Education Act.
About Us
The National Association of Scholars seeks to reform higher education by upholding the standards of a liberal arts education that fosters intellectual freedom, searches for the truth, and promotes virtuous citizenship.
The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal proposes public policy solutions to renew and fulfill the promise of higher education in North Carolina and across the country.
The Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) is Washington, D.C.’s premier institute dedicated to applying a true and full account of the human person to contemporary questions of politics, law, and culture, in pursuit of America’s civic and cultural renewal.
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For more information contact Chance Layton, Director of Communications, at [email protected] or 347-380-1267.
