Utah House passes bill tightening parental opt‑in and adding instruction on harmful effects in reproductive education

The Utah House of Representatives passed first substitute House Bill 286 on March 1, 2018, amending reproductive‑education requirements to emphasize a student’s “ability to clearly and expressly refuse” advances, add instruction about the harmful effects of certain behaviors and require district review of several local statistics. The bill passed the House 66‑5 and will be transmitted to the Senate.

Sponsor Representative Fauson, who moved to uncircle the bill and explained the changes, said the amendment removes the word “unwanted” from a provision so that students have “the ability to clearly and expressly refuse” any advance they deem inappropriate. He told colleagues the bill also explicitly lists instruction on topics such as sexting, criminally prohibited activities and the harmful effects of certain behaviors, and keeps refusal‑skills and harmful‑effects instruction subject to parental opt‑in.

The bill requires local boards to review five items within their district or charter boundary: teen pregnancy rates; child abuse statistics; STD/STI statistics; the number of complaints related to the curriculum; and the district’s policy concerning reproductive education. Representative Fauson said stakeholders including child‑ and family‑advocacy groups helped craft the language and that the bill is aimed at clarifying instruction for today’s students.

Several members questioned how the bill interacts with community assemblies and existing classroom instruction. Representative Roberts asked whether the changes alter required parental consent; the sponsor replied the added topics are part of the opt‑in list and that the bill does not eliminate parental consent. Another member asked whether assemblies (for example, programs like Fight the New Drug) held during school hours would be affected; the sponsor said that if classroom instruction covered opt‑in topics, parents would need to opt their child in to attend those sessions.

Representative King, who said he works with health providers, expressed concern the bill does not provide a full, comprehensive sexual‑health curriculum for parents who want it; he said parents should have the option to have comprehensive instruction for older students. Representative Fauson acknowledged the bill is not comprehensive but defended it as policy acceptable to many pro‑family groups while preserving opt‑in protections.

The bill’s sponsor summarized stakeholder engagement before the roll call. The Clerk announced the House result: 66 yes, 5 no; HB 286 passed as amended and will be sent to the Senate for consideration.