House education committee advances bill requiring fetal development instruction in grades 5–12

The House Committee on Education approved Senate Bill 10‑46 as amended and sent it to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation by voice vote and a roll call that resulted in a 9‑4 vote with one member absent.

Senator Sarah Nichols, the bill’s Senate sponsor, told the committee the measure would add a new section to Title 33, Education, requiring instruction on human growth and development, including fetal development, in grades 5 through 12 beginning in the 2025–26 school year. “This bill helps to ensure that students are equipped with a more detailed scientifically accurate understanding of the stages of life,” Nichols said.

Sponsor Representative Heather Scott said the measure responds to what children are learning and how that shapes culture. “What we learn in schools, it basically turns into what culture becomes,” Representative Heather Scott said, recounting an anecdote about her niece and a county‑fair display.

Supporters at the hearing urged the committee to approve the bill. Terry…