Utah’s 'No Promo Homo' Law Now History

After over a year-long legal battle, Equality Utah and three student plaintiffs have taken down the Beehive State's law that prohibited students and teachers from discussing homosexuality in schools.

Katy Smith-Gish, Josh Greer, and Kaiden Turkel took their case against the State Board of Education and reached a settlement today with the State Board and the Attorney General's office, according to Equality Utah.

In response to the lawsuit, the Utah legislature this spring repealed the state's No Promo Homo law with SB 196, which passed with a nearly unanimous vote. Now, the Utah State Board of Education has issued a letter to schools to clarify the intent of SB 196, expressing the Board's desire to ensure that "each student in Utah public schools receives a high-quality education free from all manner of discrimination, which can take the form of bullying, based on religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity."

The lawsuit has made Utah one of only of two states that have ever repealed a law against so-called promotion of homosexuality. The other state is California. Equality Utah's attorneys, a legal team at the nonprofit National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the law firm of Ropes and Gray filed a motion with the court requesting that the case be closed. The groups worked pro bono for the cause.