22-02-2025
House passes bill preventing abortion providers from teaching in public schools
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah House of Representatives has passed a bill that would prevent abortion providers from giving health-related instruction in public schools.
H.B. 233 — or School Curriculum Amendments — decisively passed in a 51-14-10 vote Friday afternoon. If it advances on through the Senate, and is signed by the governor, the bill will prevent any 'entity employee, representative, or affiliate that performs elective abortions or provides de-branded maturation curriculum' from delivering health-related teaching.
The bill would also prevent local school districts from allowing those organizations to provide materials on health topics in schools that receive state funding. For violators, the bill would impose a monetary penalty and withhold funds from the local district.
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Rep. Nicholeen Peck (R-Tooele) told lawmakers during floor debate that she felt there was a conflict of interest by allowing these entities to teach these subjects to students.
'I realized this could probably be a conflict of interest,' Peck told lawmakers. 'In our state law, it does say that we don't advocate for abortion, and even if these elective abortion providers … are not advocating by saying the word abortion, they are standing in front [of students] in a position of trust, and that's a conflict of interest.'
During debate, Rep. Andrew Stoddard (D-Salt Lake) attempted to amend the bill to allow for a process to approve certain organizations to teach. This measure ultimately failed during a floor vote.
Several representatives rose in opposition of the bill, some arguing that the law was unnecessary because educators are already required to follow the state-approved curriculum. Rep. Carol Moss (D-Salt Lake) said, 'These are volunteers, they don't have an agenda, they do it free, they don't pay them … and they're not teaching an agenda. I want to be perfectly clear to everybody, that anyone who does this has to follow the state-approved curriculum.'
When debate closed on the bill, Peck made a final appeal to lawmakers on why her legislation was needed.
'We put our children … in a position of trust with all of the people who are going to teach them,' Peck began. 'Really what this bill is all about is making sure that when our children are trusting the people that we are putting them in front of to get their education, that they are not going to be taught to trust a certain brand or a certain type of organization that they would ultimately one day be led to give money to. We shouldn't be marketing to our children at school.'
After its passage, Utah's House Democrats released a statement opposing the bill, saying, 'We believe in local control and trust the Utah State Board of Education to make informed decisions that prioritize students' well-being. Utahns do not need the legislature interfering with their family's educational choices.'
H.B. 233 will need to go through the Senate Committee and a floor vote before it can go to the governor for approval or veto.
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