After much debate and numerous versions, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed a controversial bill regulating student clubs at public schools.

The bill requires parents to give consent before their children can join school clubs and organization and mandates that school boards must give such groups a seal of approval. Opponents have criticized the bill as an attack on Gay/Straight Alliance chapters.

"This legislation simply codifies items already in the State Board of Education rules and makes clear that it is not targeting any one club or organization," Huntsman said in a news release Friday. "(It) also ensures that parents will have the right to approve of any school club or organization their child participates in."

Huntsman said that he would have vetoed prior versions of the bill.

"This doesn't target a specific group. Those prior versions targeted a specific group," said Lisa Roskelley, a spokeswoman with the governor's office.

Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, who sponsored the bill, said he thinks the governor came to the right conclusion.

"Parents' rights are paramount in any case, in any situation when it comes to their child's education and what they participate in at school," Tilton said. "I'm just thrilled that we've got this bill signed, that the governor understood what the issues were at hand."

Tilton said that the purpose of the legislation is not to ban specific clubs, but to give parents more control. School boards can discipline or disband clubs, he said, if the clubs violate the law.

He also reiterated that the bill does not target Gay/Straight Alliances or similar clubs.

"Some people have stated that. I have yet to have one valid argument on how it does that. Nobody's been able to explain that," Tilton said.

Not everyone agrees. On its Web site, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah said the federal Equal Access Act and the first amendment guarantee students' right to form Gay/Straight Alliances, and the organization expressed concern that the legislation may adversely affect such groups.

The organization urged Huntsman to veto the legislation in a letter last week.

"Our primary concern with the legislation is that school administrators and faculty may interpret it to mean that Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs), or similar student clubs, may be prohibited," the letter stated. "No matter how creative their attempts, legislators cannot get around the requirements of the Equal Access Act and the First Amendment. We ask that you counter HB 236 S7's ambiguity with a clear statement in favor of students' constitutional rights by vetoing this unnecessary legislation."

For some school districts, the legislation will not change much, if anything. Provo School District already has policies in place requiring parents to be notified and give consent for their children to join school clubs or organizations, according to Greg Hudnall, the district's director of student services.

"We think our policy will fall right in line with the requirements that are signed in with this bill," he said. "We feel pretty confident that the policy we have in Provo will meet the standard set by the state."

A Gay/Straight Alliance club was formed in Provo in 2005 but has since disbanded for lack of interest.