This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.
Utah may have boasted the most restrictive sex education laws in the country if a bill passed through the state legislature in 2012 had been signed into law. The proposed law would have restricted schools from teaching any type of sex ed in public schools outside of abstinence and would have prohibited discussion on contraception and sexually transmitted diseases. Despite the fact that this bill passed in both the state House and Senate, there was plenty of opposition to the bill from state lawmakers, educators, and even parents. Governor Gary Herbert ultimately vetoed the bill on March 16, 2012.
About the Bill
Referred to as HB363 and sponsored by Bill Wright (R-Holden), this bill would have defined sex education in the state of Utah as abstinence-only and would have banned schools from providing instruction on sexual intercourse, homosexuality, contraceptive methods, and sexually transmitted diseases. According to Deseret News, Wright sponsored the bill as a response to what he called “inappropriate material” presented in classrooms. Specifically, Wright was opposed to material produced by Planned Parenthood being distributed to students. Wright said he believed sex education was something that should take place in the home, rather than the school.
At the time, Utah schools were allowed to offer sex-education courses with some restrictions attached. Schools were allowed to provide instruction about sexual intercourse and contraception without advocating for it. Parents could choose not to have their children take the course if they didn’t want them to.
“A lot of our schools are already teaching abstinence,” Wright told Deseret News. “This will help us set a path in the future where our curriculum doesn’t get hijacked.”
According to historical reporting, 37 states in the U.S. required abstinence to be taught as a part of their sex-ed curriculum. Out of those states, 26 required that schools teach abstinence as the only sure way to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. If this law had passed in Utah as it was written, it would have become one of the most restrictive sex-education policies in the country.
“Utah is by far the most restrictive policy out there,” Rebecca Wind, spokesperson for the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks reproductive policy, told the Chicago Tribune in 2012. “There are no other states that…don’t allow birth control discussion at all, in the way that the Utah legislation does. So it is unique in that respect.”
As of 2026, Utah continues to require abstinence-focused sex education, but the proposed restrictions in HB363 never became law. The Utah State Board of Education allows schools to provide certain information about contraception, including effectiveness, limitations, and risks, without advocating its use. Schools must also obtain prior parental consent for sex education instruction.
This video examines sex education programs in Utah schools.
Those in Favor of HB363
In a state legislature that was predominantly Republican, HB363 received plenty of positive responses. Many agreed with Wright that the place to educate children about such private matters was in the home, not the public school environment.
“To replace the parent in the school setting, among people who we have no idea what their morals are, we have no idea what their values are, yet we turn our children over to them to instruct them in the most sensitive sexual activities in their lives,” Republican state Sen. Stuart Reid told The Slatest.
Sen. Mark Madsen (R-Lehi) agreed with Reid. Madsen told Deseret News that the system was wrong if parents were sending kids to school to learn about sex and schools were sending kids home to learn how to read. He stated that it was important to define the roles both parents and schools play in the education of a child. Several other Republican senators agreed with Wright, Reid, and Madsen, stating that matters this personal should be discussed with parents, rather than those outside the student’s family.
This video reports on the bill the Utah state legislature proposed passing, restricting sex education.
Opposition to the Bill
While many were in favor of the bill, enough to pass it through both the House and Senate, others felt the step went too far in restricting the education of Utah youth. While the support of the bill fell primarily along party lines, a handful of Republican senators sided with the Democrats on the issue. One senator who had qualms about the bill was Sen. Peter Knudson (R-Brigham City), who agreed that a bill to encourage abstinence was ideal, but not very realistic.
“You can’t just pull the covers over your head and say ‘abstinence-only!’ And think that’s going to do it,” Knudson told the Daily Herald. “That isn’t going to do it.”
Knudson explained to the Daily Herald that he was concerned some parents wouldn’t feel comfortable or qualified to talk to their children about sex. Knudson, a dentist, said that while he did have the “sex talks” with his kids, it was not a comfortable thing to do.
“I think to myself with the education that I have had, I have some hesitancies about parents who have had no education in these areas,” Knudson said.
The Chicago Tribune reported that numerous Democrats in the House and Senate voiced concern over whether parents would offer sufficient instruction to their children in these matters. Some were worried that a lack of sex education in schools could increase the rate of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The Tribune cited a study published at the time in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine that showed states with more comprehensive sex education programs had lower teen birth rates. However, those figures appeared to be offset by other variables, including race, income levels, and religion.
After the bill passed both the House and Senate, it went to the desk of Republican Governor Gary Herbert. While many expected Herbert to officially sign the bill into law, the governor ultimately vetoed it on March 16, 2012. According to KSL News, Herbert rejected the legislation because he believed it would restrict parents' choices regarding their children's sex education.
The veto meant that HB363 never became law. As of 2026, Utah continues to follow an abstinence-based approach rather than the abstinence-only policy proposed in the bill. The Utah State Board of Education's sex education guidance explains that instruction about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases is permitted within state guidelines, although individual school districts and charter schools may adopt more restrictive policies.
The debate surrounding HB363 illustrates the continuing disagreement over how much responsibility parents and public schools should share in teaching sex education. For further discussion of this issue, Public School Review examines whether abstinence-only education is effective, including concerns about teen pregnancy prevention and access to accurate sexual health information.
