Was Herbert’s sex-ed bill veto politically timed?

Politics » Guv accused of waiting until after the GOP caucuses.

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If there were true school choice, he said, parents could send their kids to a school that shares their values, but that doesn’t exist in the current "top-down, one-size-fits-all machine."

Kirkham said he would have vetoed the sex ed bill, because it is another example of a bill that passed late in the session and school board members he has talked to still don’t know what it would mean in the classroom.

He also received a legal opinion from a prominent Salt Lake City lawyer who said the bill is likely unconstitutional because it specifically prohibits discussion of homosexuality. Kirkham said it also would have denied families options for sex education.

"I’m very hesitant to take that choice away from a family," he said. "My opinion is, good grief, why is this even on the governor’s desk? This is a local issue."

Democratic candidate Peter Cooke has said previously that he would have vetoed the bill because he supports giving parents the ability to opt students into sex education.

gehrke@sltrib.com

Twitter: @RobertGehrke

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