Utah Just Overhauled Higher Education — From Guns on Campus to Religious Exemptions to $10 Million in Cuts

The 2026 Utah General Legislative Session, which closed March 6, produced one of the most wide-ranging overhauls of the state's public university system in recent years — touching campus gun policy, religious accommodations, trustee governance, research funding, and the tuition rights of undocumented students across the Utah System of Higher Education's more than 200,000 enrolled students.

The 2026 Utah General Legislative Session, which ended March 6, produced one of the most wide-ranging sets of changes to the state's public university system in recent years — touching campus gun policy, religious accommodations for students, trustee governance, research funding, immigration status and tuition, and the ongoing $60 million strategic reinvestment process that is still reshaping academic programs at every institution in the Utah System of Higher Education.

Here is what changed — and what it means for Utah's 200,000-plus college students.