Families in Cottonwood Heights and Holladay could lose a window to hear their school boards debate book removals after a state ruling cleared the way for districts to skip public discussion on those votes.
The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) ruled Sept. 3 that the Davis School District did not violate policy when it placed a book-removal appeal on its consent agenda without floor debate. The reasoning: book appeals happen so often in Davis that they qualify as "routine business," as The Salt Lake Tribune first reported.
That logic could extend to the Canyons and Granite school districts, which serve Cottonwood Heights and Holladay and face their own high volumes of challenges under Utah's sensitive materials law (HB 29). A federal lawsuit complaint filed Jan. 6 alleged Granite had removed approximately 71 books and Canyons had removed approximately 32 titles as of that date. Current totals may be higher.
Whether either district currently uses consent agendas for book-removal votes is not clear from public records. No complaints similar to the Davis case have been reported against Canyons or Granite.
How the ruling came about
The case centered on Davis's April 7 vote to ban Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel "Fight Club" from all district schools. The board approved the removal on its consent agenda, a procedural tool that bundles items into a single vote with no individual discussion. A parent filed a complaint with the state, alleging the board never stated its rationale aloud, as required by Utah law and district policy.
A USBE subcommittee initially recommended the full 15-member board find that Davis violated policy and recast its votes. An assistant attorney general counseled that book bans are controversial and do not belong on consent agendas. The full board rejected both.
"That's the nature of our school district … We have a lot of these requests for review," Davis Assistant Superintendent Logan Toone told USBE members Sept. 3.
Over two years, the Davis board placed at least 40 book-removal appeals on its consent agenda, according to a district spokesperson.
USBE board member Rod Hall told the Tribune the volume justified the practice. "After 40-plus times, I really do think this was their policy that they followed," Hall said.
Local districts already involved in statewide bans
Granite was among the districts that triggered statewide bans on five titles in 2026. The district helped remove "Push" by Sapphire in August and four books in March, including "The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel" by Margaret Atwood, The Holladay Journal reported. As of Sept. 28, 37 titles have been removed from public schools statewide.
Despite the ruling in its favor, Davis said it will change course. A district spokesperson said future appeal decisions will be treated as regular agenda items and discussed publicly.
The ruling is the first time USBE has addressed a procedural appeal since HB 29 took effect in 2024. The law requires a book to be removed from all public schools if at least three districts determine it amounts to "objective sensitive material."
Separately, a federal lawsuit challenging HB 29 on First Amendment grounds cleared a hurdle Sept. 16, when a judge ruled the case has legal standing and can proceed. The judge made no ruling on the law's merits.
Canyons serves Cottonwood Heights, including Brighton High School. Granite serves Holladay, including Olympus and Skyline high schools. Families can check each district's board agendas for upcoming votes on book challenges.
