“Often we have willow trees when we start and whittle them down to toothpicks,” he said. “I’d say this is a mighty fine toothpick we have here.”
HB286 directs the Utah Board of Education to establish curriculum standards on “refusal skills,” including the ability to refuse sexual advances and the obligation to cease advances when refused. Students will also learn about the criminal prohibitions on activities like sexting.
Thursday’s vote included the support of both Republican and Democratic representatives. But Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, commented that Utah parents should not be limited to only the abstinence-based curriculum currently allowed by state law.