The Act, full text · The Renewal

Preamble

When a state accepts land, money, or other property for the education of children, it accepts more than an asset. It accepts a promise.

That promise is not made to one administration, one legislature, one board, or one budget cycle. It is made to the children in the schools today, to the children who will enter them tomorrow, and to generations not yet born. A public educational trust is therefore a rare thing in republican government: a present duty owed across time.

Experience has shown that such promises do not usually fail in a single dramatic act. They fail when no one can obtain the accounts. They fail when the beneficiaries cannot get into court. They fail when the lawyer assigned to protect the trust also defends the trustee accused of breaching it. They fail when trust lands are sold, exchanged, leased, or encumbered without the safeguards any private trustee would recognize. They fail when the State invokes its own immunity against the very remedies that make a trust a trust. And they fail when public trustees are never taught that they are trustees.

These failures are failures of machinery, not of meaning. The duty already exists. It arises from the grant, the compact, the constitution, the statute, the common law, and the simple fiduciary principle that property accepted for another may not be treated as one’s own.

The purpose of this Act is to make that duty visible and enforceable.

It does not turn school trusts into ordinary lawsuits for private damages. It does not place judges in charge of land management. It does not forbid public trustees from making hard choices, balancing present and future beneficiaries, or managing trust property with prudence over time. It does one more basic thing: it supplies the procedures that a faithful trust requires.

It opens the books. It opens the courthouse. It gives future beneficiaries a voice. It separates the trust’s enforcer from the trustee’s defense. It restores the equitable remedies of accounting, injunction, surcharge, restoration, disgorgement, and tracing. It requires public trustees to learn the office they hold. And it requires independent review before drift becomes inheritance.

No republic can keep a forever promise by memory alone. A promise that is meant to last must be written into institutions, accounts, remedies, and habits of watchfulness. This Act is offered for that purpose: to secure public educational trusts for the children who can speak today, and for those who cannot yet speak at all.

Uniform Public Trust Enforcement Act

Article 1. General Provisions

Section 101. Short Title.

This [Act] may be cited as the “Uniform Public Trust Enforcement Act.”

Section 102. Legislative Findings.

The [Legislature] finds and declares that:

[State] holds certain lands, funds, proceeds, income, investments, claims, and other property in a fiduciary capacity for [common schools], [public schools], [educational institutions], [public educational purposes], or other beneficiaries identified by [the Admission Act], [state enabling act], [state constitution], federal grant, compact, statute, trust instrument, or common law.
The fiduciary character of those public educational trusts predates this [Act]. Duties of loyalty, prudence, impartiality among present and future beneficiaries, preservation and productivity of corpus, fair-value disposition, faithful accounting, segregation of trust property, and enforcement of trust claims arise from the governing trust instruments and existing law.
Public educational trusts are neither ordinary state programs nor unrestricted public assets. They are fiduciary estates administered by public officers for identified beneficiaries and continuing educational purposes.
Enforcement of public educational trusts has been impaired by recurring structural failures, including:

uncertainty over who may sue to enforce the trust;
exclusion of public trusts from trust-code procedures or fiduciary statutes;
conflicts when the public officer charged with enforcing trusts also represents the trustee whose conduct is questioned;
absence of complete, periodic, public accountings;
assertion of sovereign, governmental, or official immunity against equitable trust remedies; and
absence of required fiduciary education and independent review.

The beneficiaries of a perpetual public educational trust include present beneficiaries and future beneficiaries. A trust that binds property for future generations requires procedures that do not depend solely on the resources, vigilance, or lifespan of any present beneficiary.
A state that accepts and administers trust property must maintain a practicable forum, adequate information, and a disinterested enforcement path through which the trust and its beneficiaries may secure compliance with existing fiduciary duties.

These findings are declaratory of existing fiduciary obligations. They do not enlarge, diminish, or alter the substantive terms of any public educational trust.

Section 103. Purpose; Declaratory Construction; No Admission.

The purpose of this [Act] is to provide procedures, transparency requirements, enforcement mechanisms, and remedies adequate to the fiduciary duties that already bind public trustees of public educational trusts.
The duties enforceable under this [Act] are duties imposed by the applicable trust instrument, [the Admission Act], [state enabling act], [state constitution], federal law, statute, common law, and equity.
Neither the enactment of this [Act], nor any provision of this [Act], nor any legislative history of this [Act], may be construed as evidence, admission, or legislative determination that:

any duty stated or enforced under this [Act] did not exist before the effective date of this [Act];
any such duty was unenforceable before the effective date of this [Act]; or
any conduct occurring before the effective date of this [Act] was lawful.

This [Act] supplies procedures, forums, disclosures, representation, education, review, and remedies for existing duties. It does not create a new private damages regime.
This [Act] must be liberally construed to provide effective accounting, representation, and equitable enforcement for public educational trusts, and narrowly construed against any implication that public trust property is unrestricted state revenue.

Section 104. Definitions.

In this [Act]:

“Accounting period” means the fiscal year or other period for which a public accounting is required under Article 3.
“Beneficiary” means a person, institution, class, fund, or public educational purpose for whose benefit a public educational trust is held, including present and future beneficiaries.
“Beneficiary institution” means [a public school district], [common school], [public charter school], [education service district], [public university], [community college], [state school fund], or other institution, fund, or educational purpose entitled to income, distributions, services, or support from a public educational trust.
“Beneficiary representative” means:

the governing board, superintendent, chief executive officer, fiscal officer, or other authorized representative of a beneficiary institution;
a [school district], [education service district], [local education agency], [public university], [community college], or association whose members include beneficiary institutions;
a current student of a beneficiary institution, or the parent or guardian of a current student, when the action seeks relief for the trust and not private damages;
an organization whose members include beneficiaries, beneficiary institutions, parents or guardians of beneficiaries, or persons otherwise eligible to enforce the trust, if the organization seeks relief for the trust and satisfies [state associational-standing requirements];
a representative appointed under Section 402 to represent future beneficiaries or otherwise unrepresented beneficiary interests; or
any other person authorized by [state law] to represent a beneficiary institution or beneficiary class.

“Breach of trust” means a violation by a state trustee, trustee agency, officer, employee, agent, contractor, fiduciary, or other person of a duty owed to a public educational trust under the governing trust instrument or existing law.
“Competitive disposition” means a sale, exchange, lease, license, easement, concession, royalty arrangement, mineral agreement, timber agreement, energy agreement, conservation transaction, or other disposition conducted through public auction, sealed bid, request for proposals, open listing, or another market-tested process reasonably designed to obtain fair market value or the best fiduciary value available for the trust.
“Court” means the [court of general jurisdiction] of [State] or any specialized court designated by [state law] to hear fiduciary, equitable, or public-law claims.
“Disposition” means a sale, exchange, transfer, lease, license, concession, easement, right-of-way, encumbrance, release, settlement, royalty arrangement, extraction agreement, timber agreement, water agreement, energy agreement, carbon agreement, conservation transaction, or other act that transfers, burdens, compromises, consumes, or materially alters public trust property or the income-producing capacity of public trust property.
“Fair market value” means the price or equivalent value that a willing seller acting solely for the benefit of the trust would accept from a willing buyer in an arm’s-length transaction after adequate exposure to the relevant market, considering legally permissible uses, trust restrictions, and fiduciary constraints.
“Future beneficiary” means a person, institution, class, generation, or public educational purpose that is not currently receiving trust distributions or services but is within the class of beneficiaries for whom trust property must be preserved, administered, or made productive.
“Independent appraisal” means a written valuation by a qualified appraiser or valuation professional who:

is selected by the state trustee or through an independent public procurement process, not by a proposed purchaser, lessee, exchange partner, or other counterparty;
has no financial interest in the transaction or its approval;
is paid by the state trustee, the public educational trust, or a neutral public process, even if the counterparty later reimburses the cost under a published schedule; and
certifies the methods, assumptions, conflicts review, and market data used.

“Independent Enforcement Officer” means the officer or office established under Article 5.
“Major disposition” means a disposition of public trust property with an estimated fair market value greater than [$state threshold], a lease or encumbrance longer than [$state threshold] years, or a transaction designated by rule as material to trust corpus, trust income, beneficiary rights, or future-beneficiary interests.
“Public educational trust” means a fiduciary estate, land grant, fund, corpus, income stream, investment, claim, or other property interest held by [State], a state officer, a state agency, a state board, a local public body, or another public trustee for the support or benefit of beneficiary institutions under [the Admission Act], [state enabling act], [state constitution], federal grant, compact, statute, trust instrument, or common law.
“Public trust property” means all real property, personal property, proceeds, income, investments, minerals, timber, water rights, royalties, rents, lease payments, sale proceeds, exchange property, claims, records, and choses in action belonging to or derived from a public educational trust.
“Recovery” means money, property, restoration, disgorgement, surcharge, restitution, replacement property, settlement proceeds, or other value obtained through enforcement of a public educational trust.
“State trustee” means [the State Land Board], [State Land Commissioner], [Board of Education], [Treasurer], [Governor], [Secretary of State], [state agency], [state officer], local public body, board member, officer, employee, agent, or other person or entity that holds, manages, controls, invests, disposes of, accounts for, or distributes public trust property.
“Trust instrument” means [the Admission Act], [state enabling act], [state constitution], federal grant, compact, statute, patent, deed, reservation, dedication, common-law rule, judicial decree, or other source that establishes, identifies, limits, or governs a public educational trust.

Section 105. Scope; Savings Clause.

This [Act] applies to every public educational trust and all public trust property held, administered, invested, disposed of, or distributed by [State] or by a state trustee.
This [Act] applies whether public trust property is held as land, cash, investment assets, mineral interests, timber interests, water rights, royalty interests, lease rights, claims, or proceeds from prior trust property.
This [Act] applies to a public educational trust notwithstanding any provision of [State Trust Code], [probate code], [charitable trust statute], [institutional funds statute], [public lands statute], or other law that excludes public, governmental, charitable, honorary, statutory, or state-administered trusts from ordinary trust-code coverage.
This [Act] does not apply to:

a private trust administered by a private trustee solely for private beneficiaries;
an employee pension or retirement fund governed by [state pension law] and not by a public educational trust instrument;
a trust held by or for a federally recognized Indian tribe, unless the tribe expressly consents; or
property held by [State] in a nonfiduciary governmental capacity.

This [Act] supplements and does not displace any duty, liability, right of action, defense, remedy, accounting requirement, audit power, public-records requirement, or trust protection available under federal law, [the Admission Act], [state constitution], the governing trust instrument, statute, common law, or equity.
If another source of law imposes a higher fiduciary duty, broader accounting requirement, stricter disposition safeguard, longer limitation period, or more protective remedy for the trust, that source controls unless a superior source of law provides otherwise.

Reader note. Article 1 does the framing work: the trust duties are not new; the enforcement machinery is new or clarified.

Article 2. Applicability and Fiduciary Duties

Section 201. Recognition of Fiduciary Capacity.

A state trustee holds public trust property in a fiduciary capacity and not as unrestricted owner.
Public trust property, income, proceeds, claims, and recoveries may not be treated as general revenue except to the extent expressly permitted by the governing trust instrument and existing law.
A state trustee acts with respect to public trust property in a fiduciary capacity. The interests of [State] as sovereign, taxpayer representative, proprietor, regulator, employer, or manager of non-trust programs are not interests of the beneficiaries and may not be preferred to the trust unless the governing trust instrument and existing law authorize the action and the trust receives the value, protection, or finding required by law.

Section 202. Duties Generally.

To the extent required by the governing trust instrument and existing law, a state trustee owes the trust and its beneficiaries the duties stated in this Article.
The duties stated in this Article are declaratory of existing law as provided in Section 103.
A state trustee may not contract away, waive, or be exempted from a fiduciary duty owed to a public educational trust, except as authorized by the governing trust instrument and existing law.

Section 203. Duty of Loyalty.

A state trustee shall administer the public educational trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries and the trust purpose.
A state trustee may not administer public trust property to serve the interests of [State]’s general fund, any agency or program that is not a beneficiary, any local government, any private person, or any public purpose other than the trust purpose, except to the extent that doing so is consistent with and does not subordinate the interests of the beneficiaries.
A transaction in which [State] in a nonfiduciary capacity, or any agency or program of [State] that is not a beneficiary, acquires public trust property or an interest in public trust property is a self-interested transaction subject to Article 6.

Section 204. Duty of Prudence.

A state trustee shall administer a public educational trust as a prudent fiduciary would, exercising reasonable care, skill, and caution, considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and circumstances of the trust.
A state trustee with special skills or expertise, or that holds itself out as having special skills or expertise, shall use those skills or expertise.
A state trustee shall manage revenue-producing public trust property to obtain the greatest fiduciary value over time that is consistent with the long-term preservation, productivity, and lawful administration of the trust.
Sustained-yield, conservation, restoration, access, and land-management practices may be consistent with this duty when authorized by the governing trust instrument and existing law and when they preserve or enhance fiduciary value for the trust. Management choices that sacrifice trust value to serve non-beneficiary purposes are not justified by this subsection.

Section 205. Duty of Impartiality Between Present and Future Beneficiaries.

A state trustee shall act impartially between present and future beneficiaries, giving due regard to their respective interests under the governing trust instrument and existing law.
A state trustee may not materially benefit present beneficiaries by depleting, impairing, undercompensating, or failing to protect trust corpus to the detriment of future beneficiaries, except as the governing trust instrument and existing law permit.
A state trustee may not accumulate corpus or income in a manner that defeats the lawful interests of present beneficiaries, except as the governing trust instrument and existing law permit.

Section 206. Duty to Obtain Fiduciary Value on Disposition.

A state trustee shall obtain fair market value, or equivalent fiduciary value expressly authorized by the governing trust instrument and existing law, on any disposition of public trust property.
Consideration for a disposition must be paid to the trust or otherwise credited to the trust as required by the governing trust instrument and existing law.
Legislative appropriation to a non-trust purpose of consideration owed to the trust, or netting of consideration against obligations of the trust to [State], does not satisfy this Section unless expressly authorized by the governing trust instrument and existing law.

Section 207. Duty to Account and Enforce Trust Claims.

A state trustee shall keep complete and accurate records of the administration of the trust, including records sufficient to identify each trust asset, its acquisition, its management, its revenues and expenses, its encumbrances, its claims, and any disposition of it.
A state trustee shall render the public accountings required by Article 3.
A state trustee shall take reasonable steps to identify, preserve, assert, and enforce claims belonging to the trust, including claims for recovery of trust property, proceeds, income, or value.

Section 208. Relation to State Trust Code and Common Law.

A provision excluding a public educational trust from [State Trust Code] does not bar:

standing under Article 4;
an accounting under Article 3;
a disposition challenge under Article 6;
equitable relief under Article 7; or
use by a court of trust-law principles by analogy when consistent with the governing trust instrument and existing law.

If [State Trust Code] does not apply by its own terms to a public educational trust, a court may apply trust-law principles, remedies, defenses, and procedures by analogy to the extent consistent with this [Act], the governing trust instrument, and existing law.

Reader note. Article 2 says what should already be true in any trust: the trustee acts for the beneficiaries, accounts for the property, gets fair value, and does not treat the trust as spare state money.

Article 3. Mandatory Public Accounting

Section 301. Annual Public Accounting Required.

Not later than [120] days after the close of each accounting period, each state trustee shall prepare, certify, and publish a uniform annual trust accounting for each public educational trust administered by that trustee.
The accounting must be certified by [the trustee board’s presiding officer] and by the chief fiscal officer of the administering agency, each certifying that the accounting is complete and accurate to the best of the certifier’s knowledge after reasonable inquiry.
The duty to account under this Article is not satisfied by general-purpose state financial reports, agency budget documents, land-management summaries, or audited financial statements of [State], except to the extent those documents contain and separately state every element required by this Article for the particular trust.

Section 302. Contents of the Uniform Annual Trust Accounting.

The annual accounting for each public educational trust must separately state, for the accounting period and with comparative figures for the preceding [four] accounting periods:

the opening and closing balance of trust corpus;
land and other real property interests, by acreage, location, category of use, encumbrance, and current estimated value, with the date and method of valuation;
mineral, timber, water, energy, carbon, conservation, and other natural-resource interests;
funds, investments, cash, receivables, and other financial assets at market value or book value as appropriate, with the accounting basis identified;
all revenues, stated by source category, including disposition proceeds, royalties, bonuses, rents, timber receipts, grazing fees, interest, dividends, realized gains, and unrealized gains;
all expenditures, administrative charges, management charges, legal expenses, consultant expenses, investment expenses, payments to third parties, and transfers from trust assets or trust revenues, with the legal authority for each category cited;
every transfer out of the trust, including transfers to [State], a state agency, a local government, a beneficiary institution, a beneficiary distribution account, or a non-trust account;
all distributions to beneficiary institutions or beneficiary funds, including the formula used and any amounts withheld, delayed, redirected, or offset;
all dispositions of public trust property, including the property, counterparty, method, valuation evidence, consideration received, appraisers, findings, and destination of proceeds;
all leases, licenses, easements, rights-of-way, concessions, extraction agreements, and encumbrances materially affecting public trust property;
all debt, obligations, liabilities, contingent liabilities, and claims asserted by or against the trust;
all pending litigation, settlement, release, or administrative proceeding materially affecting the trust;
all known missing, disputed, commingled, or unreconciled public trust property or proceeds;
all related-party transactions, self-interested transactions, conflicts of interest, waivers, recusals, or ethics disclosures materially affecting the trust;
records withheld from public disclosure, with a redaction log identifying the category of record, the legal basis for withholding, and whether a nonexempt summary is available; and
any other information required by rule or by the governing trust instrument.

Section 303. Publication; Machine-Readable Data.

The annual accounting must be published without charge on a public website maintained by [State] and must remain available for at least [20] years.
The accounting must be available in a human-readable format and in a structured, machine-readable, non-proprietary format.
The trustee shall preserve records sufficient to verify each accounting for at least [20] years or for the longer period required by [state records law], the governing trust instrument, or court order.

Section 304. Beneficiary Objections and Judicial Accounting.

A person with standing under Article 4 may file written objections to an annual accounting with the state trustee and the Independent Enforcement Officer.
If an objection is not resolved within [90] days, a person with standing under Article 4 may seek a judicial accounting.
A court may require a supplemental, historical, forensic, or special-purpose accounting when necessary to determine trust property, trust income, trust expenses, trust claims, or breach of trust.

Section 305. Effect of Failure to Account.

If a state trustee fails to render a materially complete accounting required by this Article, the trustee bears the burden of proving that challenged expenditures, transfers, dispositions, losses, or omissions were lawful and faithful to the trust.
A limitation period, laches defense, notice period, or similar time-based defense may not begin to run against a trust claim until the state trustee has made a materially complete disclosure sufficient to put a beneficiary representative on reasonable notice of the claim, except as otherwise required by [state constitution], federal law, or the governing trust instrument.
Failure to account does not itself establish breach of trust for every transaction during the accounting period, but it authorizes appropriate equitable relief to obtain information and protect the trust.

Reader note. Article 3 is the “send the beneficiaries a statement” rule. A trustee who never accounts cannot be checked.

Article 4. Standing and Representation

Section 401. Standing to Enforce Public Educational Trusts.

The following may bring a civil action in court to enforce a public educational trust:

a beneficiary institution;
a beneficiary representative;
a future-beneficiary representative appointed under Section 402;
the Independent Enforcement Officer;
the [Attorney General], if the [Attorney General] does not have a conflict of interest under Section 504;
the [State Auditor], [Inspector General], or other public officer expressly authorized by [state law];
[optional: a taxpayer of [State], if the action is brought in good faith for relief to the trust, the plaintiff first gives notice to the Independent Enforcement Officer, and the court may require consolidation, lead counsel, or security only on a finding of bad faith or substantial duplication]; and
any other person or entity granted standing by [the Admission Act], [state constitution], federal law, statute, common law, or equity.

A person or entity with standing under subsection (a) need not show injury different in kind from the injury suffered by other beneficiaries or members of the public if the action seeks relief for the trust and not private damages.
Standing may not be denied because beneficiaries are numerous, indefinite, distributed across institutions, represented through public educational purposes, not yet born, not yet enrolled, or not presently receiving trust distributions.
A court may consolidate duplicative actions, appoint lead counsel, stay a later-filed action, require coordination with the Independent Enforcement Officer, or enter other case-management orders necessary to protect the trust and avoid wasteful litigation.

Section 402. Representation of Future and Unrepresented Beneficiaries.

Future beneficiaries have enforceable trust interests to the extent recognized by the governing trust instrument and existing law.
In any action under this [Act], the court shall determine whether future beneficiaries and otherwise unrepresented beneficiary interests are adequately represented.
If the court finds inadequate representation, the court shall appoint a future-beneficiary representative, guardian ad litem, special fiduciary, or other representative to protect those interests.
A state trustee, trustee agency, or the [Attorney General] may not be deemed an adequate representative of future beneficiaries on a matter in which the trustee, trustee agency, or [Attorney General] has a conflict of interest.
A judgment, settlement, release, consent decree, or remedial plan that materially affects future beneficiaries binds future beneficiaries only if the court finds that:

future beneficiaries received adequate representation;
notice was reasonably calculated to inform beneficiary institutions and beneficiary representatives;
the relief is fair, reasonable, and faithful to the trust; and
the record includes a sufficient accounting or factual basis to evaluate the effect on trust corpus and trust income.

Section 403. Notice and Intervention.

A plaintiff filing an action under this [Act] shall give notice to the Independent Enforcement Officer, the [Attorney General], each known state trustee, and beneficiary institutions identified by rule or court order.
Notice under subsection (a) is not jurisdictional and may not bar emergency or temporary relief.
A beneficiary institution, beneficiary representative, future-beneficiary representative, Independent Enforcement Officer, or nonconflicted [Attorney General] may intervene as of right in an action under this [Act].
The court may require public notice of a proposed settlement, release, accounting approval, disposition approval, or remedial plan.

Reader note. Article 4 answers the threshold question that has consumed years in some school-trust fights: who may enter the courthouse on behalf of the trust?

Article 5. Independent Public Trust Enforcement

Section 501. Establishment of Independent Enforcement Officer.

There is established the [Office of Public Trust Enforcement], headed by the [Independent Public Trust Enforcement Officer].
The Independent Enforcement Officer shall be located [within the State Auditor’s office] [within the legislative branch] [as an independent executive office] [as a special fiduciary appointed by the Supreme Court] [state variable].
The Independent Enforcement Officer may not be subject to supervision, direction, budgetary control, or litigation control by a state trustee whose conduct or property administration is subject to this [Act].
The Independent Enforcement Officer shall be selected by [state variable process], shall serve for a term of [state variable], and may be removed only for [cause] after [state variable process].
[Alternative for states not creating a standing office: The court may appoint independent special counsel or a special fiduciary to enforce a public educational trust when the court finds that ordinary public enforcement is unavailable, conflicted, inadequate, or materially delayed.]

Section 502. Powers and Duties.

The Independent Enforcement Officer shall:

receive and review beneficiary complaints;
monitor compliance with this [Act];
demand records and accountings from state trustees;
require corrective responses to accounting deficiencies;
investigate suspected breach of trust;
issue subpoenas or civil investigative demands to the extent authorized by [state law];
intervene in or bring actions to enforce a public educational trust;
seek appointment of future-beneficiary representatives when needed;
review major dispositions and settlement proposals;
publish annual enforcement and compliance reports; and
perform any other duty assigned by this [Act] or [state law].

A state trustee shall cooperate with the Independent Enforcement Officer and shall provide requested nonprivileged trust records within [30] days unless a shorter period is required for emergency protection of the trust.
If a state trustee withholds records on privilege, confidentiality, or exemption grounds, the trustee shall provide a privilege or redaction log. The court may review withheld records in camera.

Section 503. Beneficiary Complaints.

A beneficiary institution, beneficiary representative, future beneficiary representative, public officer, or other person may submit a complaint to the Independent Enforcement Officer alleging breach of trust, incomplete accounting, improper disposition, conflict of interest, or other violation of this [Act].
The Independent Enforcement Officer shall acknowledge receipt, classify the complaint, and state whether the office will investigate, refer, decline, or seek additional information.
A decision by the Independent Enforcement Officer not to investigate or not to sue does not bar a person with standing under Article 4 from bringing an action.

Section 504. Attorney-General Conflict.

The [Attorney General] has a conflict of interest for purposes of this [Act] when the [Attorney General] or the [Attorney General’s office]:

represents, advises, or defends a state trustee, trustee agency, board member, officer, or employee concerning conduct alleged to be a breach of trust;
has approved, defended, or materially participated in the challenged transaction or policy;
is paid from public trust property to defend the challenged conduct; or
otherwise cannot represent the trust and its beneficiaries with undivided loyalty.

When a conflict exists, the [Attorney General] may represent the state trustee or other state defendant to the extent permitted by law, but may not represent the trust, control enforcement of trust claims, settle trust claims, or oppose the Independent Enforcement Officer on behalf of the trust.
The Independent Enforcement Officer, or court-appointed special counsel under Section 501(e), has authority to represent the trust’s enforcement interest when the [Attorney General] is conflicted.

Section 505. Funding; No Trustee Defense From Trust Assets.

The Independent Enforcement Officer must be funded from [general fund appropriation] [dedicated oversight fund] [legislatively appropriated non-trust source] unless the governing trust instrument and existing law expressly permit a trust administration charge.
Public trust property may not be used to pay the legal defense costs of a state trustee, trustee agency, board member, officer, employee, or other defendant accused of breach of trust, except as expressly authorized by the governing trust instrument and existing law and approved by the court as consistent with fiduciary duties.
A court may permit reimbursement from an appropriate non-trust source, or from trust administration funds only if permitted by the governing trust instrument and existing law, after final determination that the defended conduct was faithful to the trust.

Reader note. Article 5 keeps the trust’s enforcer from being the trustee’s defense lawyer. A trust cannot be protected by an attorney with divided allegiance.

Article 6. Dispositions, Valuation, and Self-Dealing

Section 601. Fiduciary Findings Required.

Before approving a major disposition of public trust property, a state trustee shall publish written fiduciary findings.
The findings must state:

the property or interest affected;
the trust purpose and beneficiaries affected;
the proposed counterparty and material terms;
the valuation evidence relied upon;
why the transaction satisfies the duties of loyalty, prudence, impartiality, fair value, and protection of corpus;
how proceeds or substitute property will be credited to the trust;
whether any conflict of interest, related-party relationship, or self-interested transaction exists; and
whether a competitive disposition was used or, if not, why a noncompetitive disposition is permitted under Section 603.

Section 602. Valuation Safeguards.

A major disposition must be supported by at least one independent appraisal or other independent valuation appropriate to the property interest.
A self-interested transaction under Section 604 must be supported by at least two independent appraisals unless the court finds that another valuation method provides equal or greater protection to the trust.
An appraisal, valuation, market study, or fairness opinion procured or controlled by a proposed purchaser, lessee, exchange partner, or other counterparty may not be the sole valuation or controlling valuation relied upon by a state trustee.
A counterparty may reimburse appraisal or valuation costs only under a published fee schedule, escrow, procurement process, or other neutral mechanism that preserves appraiser independence.
Each appraisal or valuation must disclose the appraiser’s qualifications, independence, conflicts review, assumptions, limiting conditions, valuation premise, comparable transactions or other market data, discounts or premiums, public-law constraints, and date of value.
A state trustee may not approve a disposition for less than fair market value unless the trustee makes written findings, supported by independent valuation, that the trust receives equivalent fiduciary value authorized by the governing trust instrument and existing law.

Section 603. Competitive Disposition Default.

A disposition must be conducted as a competitive disposition unless an exception in subsection (c) applies.
A competitive disposition must use procedures reasonably designed to obtain fair market value or the best fiduciary value available for the trust, including public notice, objective selection criteria, adequate response time, and public disclosure of the result.
A state trustee may use a noncompetitive disposition only if the trustee publishes written findings that:

an exchange will provide equal or greater fiduciary value to the trust and the property received is suitable trust property;
an intergovernmental disposition will provide fair market value, equivalent fiduciary value, or a trust-authorized public educational benefit;
a court-approved settlement resolves a bona fide dispute involving public trust property and the settlement is fair to present and future beneficiaries;
the property has unique characteristics making only one counterparty practicable and independent valuation confirms fair market value;
a conservation, restoration, access, infrastructure, or land-management transaction is expressly authorized by the governing trust instrument and provides fair market value or equivalent fiduciary value;
emergency action is necessary to prevent material loss to the trust and the noncompetitive process is no broader than necessary; or
the disposition is de minimis under [$state threshold] and rules adopted under this [Act].

A finding under subsection (c) must explain why competitive disposition would be impracticable, materially harmful to the trust, or less beneficial to the trust than the proposed noncompetitive disposition.
A noncompetitive disposition under subsection (c) must be published at least [30] days before final approval unless emergency findings under subsection (c)(6) are made.

Section 604. Self-Interested Transactions.

A disposition is self-interested if [State] in a nonfiduciary capacity, a nonbeneficiary state agency, a local government, a trustee, an officer, an employee, a related party, or a person participating in trust administration acquires public trust property or receives a benefit from the disposition other than a benefit shared by the trust beneficiaries.
A self-interested transaction is voidable unless the state trustee proves that:

the transaction was authorized by the governing trust instrument and existing law;
the transaction was fair to the trust;
the trust received fair market value or equivalent fiduciary value;
conflicts were disclosed and managed before approval;
the requirements of Sections 601, 602, and 603 were satisfied; and
present and future beneficiaries were adequately protected.

Section 605. Review and Voidability.

A person with standing under Article 4 may seek judicial review of a disposition for breach of trust or violation of this Article.
A disposition approved in material violation of this Article is voidable in equity.
In an action under this Section, the court may enjoin a proposed disposition, suspend closing pending review, require additional accounting or valuation, rescind or reform a disposition to the extent permitted by law, impose a constructive trust or equitable lien, surcharge a breaching fiduciary, require restoration to the trust, order disgorgement from a knowing participant, or grant any other equitable relief authorized by Article 7.
The rights of a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of breach are governed by [state law]. Nothing in this Section prevents equitable relief against a breaching trustee, a knowing participant, proceeds, substitute property, or other appropriate trust property.

Reader note. Article 6 is the anti-self-dealing and fair-value article. The trust can sell, lease, exchange, conserve, or manage property, but it must do so as a trustee.

Article 7. Jurisdiction, Immunity, Remedies, Fees, and Settlements

Section 701. Jurisdiction and Venue.

The [court] has jurisdiction over an action brought under this [Act].
The court may exercise all equitable powers necessary to enforce a public educational trust, protect public trust property, require accounting, supervise fiduciary conduct, and restore the trust.
Venue lies in [state capital county], in the county where affected trust property is located, in the county where a beneficiary institution is located, or as otherwise provided by [state law].

Section 702. Limited Waiver of Sovereign and Governmental Immunity.

[State] waives sovereign immunity, governmental immunity, official-capacity immunity, and statutory immunity to the limited extent necessary for a court to hear and decide an action under this [Act] and grant equitable relief for a public educational trust.
The waiver in subsection (a) applies to [State], a state trustee, trustee agency, state officer, state employee, board, commission, or public body in an official capacity.
The waiver in subsection (a) is limited to equitable trust remedies and does not authorize:

private compensatory damages;
punitive damages;
tort damages;
damages for emotional distress, personal injury, or private economic loss;
a civil penalty unless separately authorized by [state law];
execution against unrestricted state assets except as ordered for restoration of public trust property or recovery owed to the trust;
a jury trial; or
relief inconsistent with [the Admission Act], [state constitution], federal law, or the governing trust instrument.

The waiver in subsection (a) does not waive personal-capacity immunity of an officer or employee except to the extent an equitable surcharge, restitution, disgorgement, constructive trust, or other equitable remedy is available under existing fiduciary law and consistent with the standard and safe harbor stated in Section 704(c) and (d).
The waiver in subsection (a) extends to an award of attorney fees, expert fees, costs, and litigation expenses under Section 706, payable from funds of the responsible [State], state trustee, trustee agency, or public body other than public trust property. Such an award is ancillary to equitable relief and is not private damages within the meaning of subsection (c).

Section 703. Claims-Statute Inapplicability.

An action under this [Act] is an action to enforce a public educational trust and obtain equitable trust relief. It is not a tort claim, contract claim, or private damages claim against [State].
[State Tort Claims Act], notice-of-claim requirements, damages caps, presentment requirements, and tort-claim limitation provisions do not apply to an action under this [Act], except to the extent [state constitution] or superior law requires otherwise.

Section 704. Equitable Remedies.

In an action under this [Act], the court may order any equitable remedy necessary to enforce the public educational trust, including:

accounting, supplemental accounting, historical accounting, forensic accounting, or judicial accounting;
declaratory relief;
temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunction;
mandamus, specific performance, or an order compelling fiduciary action required by law;
surcharge;
restoration of money, land, proceeds, income, appreciation, lost income, or other value to the trust;
disgorgement;
restitution;
constructive trust;
equitable lien;
tracing;
rescission, reformation, or conditioning of a transaction;
removal, suspension, recusal, or disqualification of a trustee, officer, employee, agent, contractor, or fiduciary from public trust administration, to the extent permitted by [state constitution] and [state law];
appointment of a special fiduciary, receiver, monitor, master, auditor, or future-beneficiary representative;
approval, modification, or rejection of a remedial plan;
preservation of records;
prospective compliance reporting; and
attorney fees, expert fees, and costs under Section 706.

Remedies under this Section must be tailored to the trust and may not be used to award private damages to a plaintiff.
Standard for personal monetary remedies. The court may impose surcharge or another personal-capacity monetary remedy on an individual fiduciary, officer, employee, or agent only on finding that the individual:

acted disloyally, engaged in self-dealing, or acted for private gain or personal or political advantage;
acted in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the existence or terms of the public educational trust;
knowingly participated in another person’s breach of trust; or
breached a duty whose application to the conduct in question had already been made clear at the time of the conduct, whether by the governing trust instrument, by statute, by controlling judicial decision, or by a prior accounting or judicial declaration under this [Act].

Good-faith safe harbor. An individual who acted honestly and reasonably on a question the law had genuinely left unsettled at the time of the conduct answers by correction of the trust rather than personally, and is not subject to surcharge or another personal-capacity monetary remedy for that conduct. This subsection does not apply to conduct described in subsection (c)(1) through (c)(3), and does not extend to conduct occurring after the duty in question had been judicially declared or after the facts constituting the breach were disclosed, or should have been disclosed, in an accounting under Article 3.
Trust made whole either way. Subsections (c) and (d) limit only personal-capacity monetary remedies. They do not diminish the trust’s right to complete restoration, and relief restoring the trust remains available against [State], a state trustee, trustee agency, or public body in an official capacity without regard to any individual’s good faith.

Section 705. Recoveries Belong to the Trust.

A recovery obtained under this [Act] belongs to the public educational trust whose property, income, proceeds, or rights were affected.
A recovery must be restored to trust corpus, trust income, a beneficiary distribution account, or another trust account as the court orders according to the governing trust instrument and existing law.
A plaintiff, relator, public officer, attorney, expert, or agency may not receive a percentage of a recovery unless expressly authorized by [state law] and approved by the court as consistent with the trust.

Section 706. Attorney Fees, Expert Fees, Costs, and Litigation Expenses.

Award. In an action under this [Act], the court shall award reasonable attorney fees, expert fees, forensic-accounting and appraisal fees, litigation expenses, and costs to a plaintiff or intervenor that substantially prevails or whose action is a substantial factor in conferring a substantial benefit on a public educational trust, unless the court finds that special circumstances would make an award unjust.
Substantial benefit; catalyst. An action is a substantial factor in conferring a substantial benefit whether the benefit is obtained by judgment, by a court-approved settlement or consent decree, or by voluntary accounting, restoration, corrective action, or policy change that the action was a substantial factor in producing, even without a final judgment on the merits.
Source; trust protected. Fees, costs, and expenses awarded under this Section shall be paid, in the following order of preference, by:

a fiduciary, officer, employee, agent, or knowing participant who committed or knowingly participated in the breach, by surcharge or otherwise, to the extent equity and existing law permit; and
the responsible [State], state trustee, trustee agency, or public body, from funds other than public trust property, the immunity for which is waived under Section 702.

Fees, costs, and expenses awarded under this Section shall not be paid from, charged against, deducted from, or satisfied out of trust corpus, trust income, or any recovery belonging to a public educational trust.

Measure. Reasonable attorney fees under this Section equal the hours reasonably expended multiplied by the prevailing market hourly rate for comparable complex fiduciary or public-interest litigation in the relevant legal community; the court may adjust for the contingent risk of the action and for exceptional results. Fees are measured at prevailing market rates and may not be reduced because counsel is salaried, is employed by a nonprofit, public-interest, or governmental organization, or served at a reduced rate or without charge.
Additional to recovery. An award under this Section is in addition to, and shall not reduce, any recovery restored to the trust under Section 705.
No charge against good-faith beneficiaries. A beneficiary institution, beneficiary representative, future-beneficiary representative, or member organization bringing or intervening in an action in good faith for relief to the trust may not be required to post a bond and may not be ordered to pay the fees, costs, or expenses of a state trustee or other defendant unless the court finds the action was frivolous, brought in bad faith, or brought for an improper purpose.

Section 707. Settlements and Releases.

A settlement, release, consent decree, or remedial plan resolving a material claim under this [Act] requires court approval if it affects trust corpus, future beneficiaries, a major disposition, or claims for restoration exceeding [$state threshold].
The court may approve a settlement only after finding that:

the settlement is fair, reasonable, and faithful to the trust;
beneficiary institutions and beneficiary representatives received adequate notice;
future beneficiaries were adequately represented;
the record includes sufficient accounting and valuation information; and
the settlement directs any recovery to the trust.

A release may not waive unknown claims arising from facts not reasonably disclosed in an accounting, unless the court expressly finds that the release is necessary, narrowly tailored, and consistent with the trust.

Reader note. Article 7 is the “teeth” article. It lets a court give trust remedies, but it keeps the remedy focused on restoring the trust, not creating private payouts. The teeth are firm but fair: the trust is made whole either way, while personal liability is reserved for the disloyal, the self-interested, the reckless, and breaches of duties already made clear; an official who acted honestly where the law was genuinely unsettled corrects the trust rather than facing personal ruin (Section 704(c)-(e)). And the cost of enforcement falls on the wrongdoer or the responsible public body, never on the fund itself (Sections 505 and 706).

Article 8. Trustee Education

Section 801. Required Fiduciary Education.

Each state trustee, voting member of a trustee board, trustee-agency director, senior land manager, senior investment officer, chief financial officer, chief legal officer, and other officer or employee with material authority over public trust property shall complete fiduciary education under this Article.
A person subject to this Section shall complete:

initial education of at least [six] hours within [90] days after assuming the position; and
continuing education of at least [two] hours each year thereafter.

The required curriculum must include:

the history and legal sources of the relevant public educational trust;
fiduciary duties of loyalty, prudence, impartiality, preservation of corpus, productivity, accounting, and enforcement;
beneficiary standing and future-beneficiary representation;
public accounting duties under Article 3;
valuation and disposition safeguards under Article 6;
conflicts of interest, recusal, ethics, and related-party transactions;
separation of trust property from general state revenue;
investment, land-management, and distribution principles applicable to the trust;
open-records and records-retention requirements;
the role of the Independent Enforcement Officer; and
remedies for breach of trust.

The Independent Enforcement Officer, in consultation with [State Auditor], [state ethics commission], beneficiary institutions, and qualified fiduciary-law educators, shall approve curriculum standards and providers.
Completion records must be published with the annual public accounting.
A person who fails to complete required education may not vote on, approve, or materially participate in a major disposition until the requirement is satisfied.
An action taken with the decisive participation of a person barred under subsection (f) is voidable if the failure to complete education materially affected the process or deprived the trust of informed fiduciary judgment.

Reader note. Article 8 makes fiduciary education part of the office. No one should administer a perpetual trust without being told what the office requires.

Article 9. Periodic Independent Review

Section 901. Independent Review Required.

At least once every [five] [ten] years, each public educational trust must undergo an independent fiduciary review.
The review must be conducted by [State Auditor] or by an independent reviewer selected through a public procurement process administered by [State Auditor] or another officer independent of the state trustee.
A reviewer must have expertise in fiduciary administration, public finance, land management, auditing, valuation, or institutional governance and may not:

be a state trustee;
be employed by or under contract with a state trustee for ordinary trust administration;
have participated in a transaction under review;
have a financial interest in public trust property or a counterparty under review; or
have another conflict of interest that would materially impair independence.

Section 902. Scope of Review.

The independent review must evaluate:

completeness and accuracy of accountings under Article 3;
inventory and title controls for public trust property;
segregation of trust corpus, income, proceeds, and expenses;
distributions to beneficiary institutions;
disposition practices, including compliance with valuation and competitive-disposition requirements;
investment practices and investment expenses;
land-management, lease, royalty, timber, mineral, water, energy, carbon, and conservation practices;
administrative expenses charged to the trust;
conflicts of interest and related-party transactions;
enforcement of trust claims and collection of trust income;
treatment of present and future beneficiaries;
compliance with trustee education requirements;
compliance with prior corrective-action plans;
adequacy of records retention, data systems, and public access; and
any other matter material to fiduciary administration.

Section 903. Report, Response, and Corrective Action.

The reviewer shall publish a written report with findings, supporting analysis, recommendations, and any identified breaches, risks, or accounting deficiencies.
The report must be provided to the state trustee, Independent Enforcement Officer, [Attorney General], [Governor], [Legislature], beneficiary institutions, and the public.
Within [90] days after publication, the state trustee shall publish a written response and corrective-action plan.
The [Legislature] or [legislative committee] shall hold a public hearing on the report and corrective-action plan within [180] days after publication unless the report contains no material findings.
The Independent Enforcement Officer may use the report as a basis for investigation or enforcement.

Section 904. Cost of Review.

The cost of independent review must be paid from [general fund appropriation] [dedicated oversight fund] [trust administration funds only to the extent permitted by the governing trust instrument and existing law].

Reader note. Article 9 is structural maintenance. Accountings catch annual facts; independent reviews ask whether the whole trust system is still faithful.

Article 10. Administration, Transition, Severability, and Uniformity

Section 1001. Rules.

The Independent Enforcement Officer may adopt rules necessary to administer Articles 3, 5, 8, and 9.
A state trustee may adopt rules necessary to implement accounting, disposition, records, and education requirements applicable to that trustee.
A rule adopted under this Section may not narrow standing, reduce accounting content, weaken disposition safeguards, limit equitable remedies, expand immunity, or excuse compliance with the governing trust instrument.

Section 1002. Trust Schedule.

Not later than [date], each state trustee shall file with the Independent Enforcement Officer and publish a schedule identifying each public educational trust and each category of public trust property administered by that trustee.
Failure to list a trust or property interest does not exempt the trust or property from this [Act].

Section 1003. Relation to Other Law.

This [Act] supplements and does not displace [state public records law], [state ethics law], [state procurement law], [state audit law], [state administrative procedure act], [state land laws], [state investment laws], common-law trust principles, constitutional remedies, or any remedy available under federal law.
If a provision of this [Act] conflicts with [the Admission Act], [state constitution], or federal law, the superior source controls.
Nothing in this [Act] authorizes a state trustee to take action prohibited by the governing trust instrument or existing law.

Section 1004. Transition.

This [Act] takes effect on [effective date].
The Independent Enforcement Officer must be appointed not later than [date].
The first schedule of public educational trusts under Section 1002 must be published not later than [date].
The first annual public accounting under Article 3 must be published not later than [date] and must cover at least the fiscal year ending [date].
Initial fiduciary education under Article 8 must be completed not later than [date] for persons already serving in covered positions on the effective date.
The first independent review under Article 9 must begin not later than [date].
This [Act] applies to actions filed on or after the effective date and to ongoing administration of public educational trusts. It does not reopen a final judgment entered before the effective date.
For conduct predating the effective date, this [Act] supplies forum, procedure, accounting, representation, and remedies to the extent the underlying fiduciary duty existed when the conduct occurred and the claim is not barred by a final judgment.

Section 1005. Severability.

If any provision of this [Act] or its application to any person, trust, property, transaction, or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this [Act] that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application. The provisions of this [Act] are severable.

Section 1006. Uniformity of Application and Construction.

In applying and construing this uniform act, a court may consider the need to promote transparency, fiduciary accountability, beneficiary access, and effective equitable enforcement of public educational trusts among states that enact substantially similar law.

Reader note. Article 10 keeps the Act administrable: rules, trust schedule, effective dates, transition, severability, and uniformity.

Uniform Public Trust Enforcement Act — full text.