California schools will not be required to provide free condoms to high school students next year after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to veto a bill that would have mandated it.

The legislation would have ensured that all public high school students have access to free condoms and prevented schools from prohibiting condom distribution during sex education classes and health fairs.

The measure also would have prohibited pharmacies and other retailers from asking condom buyers for identification.

In his rejection letter on Sept. 25, Newsom said that the costly program would put pressure on the state’s education budget.

He rejected the same bill last year, also for financial reasons.

Newsom faced a budget deficit estimated at $38 billion to $73 billion earlier this year after revenue was weaker than expected. He signed a state budget in June that reduced spending by $16 billion through deep program cuts while maintaining required funding for education.

California’s Proposition 98 created a constitutional amendment in 1988 that established an annual minimum funding level for kindergarten through community college students.

The free-condom bill, Senate Bill 954, would have added millions to the education budget, putting “significant ongoing cost pressures on its Proposition 98 General Fund,” Newsom wrote in the letter.

“It is important to remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications that are not included in the budget, such as this measure,” Newsom wrote in his rejection letter.

The legislation was favored by multiple health associations and Democrats, while a number of Christian and family council groups opposed it.

San Fernando Valley Sen. Caroline Menjivar, who authored the legislation, said she found $5 million in the state budget for the program. She accused the governor of ulterior motives for not signing the bill and pointed out the costs associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

“While I cannot speculate on an ulterior motive, let’s get real, it’s not the cost,” Menjivar wrote in a statement on Sept. 26. “The ongoing cost California cannot afford is the $1 [billion] we spend annually on STI related care.”

Staff and students walk through a hallway at a California school. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The bill was co-sponsored by Black Women for Wellness Action Project, California School-Based Health Alliance, Essential Access Health, GENup, Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, and Voters of Tomorrow.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the governor’s decision to veto SB 954,” the groups wrote in a statement on Sept. 26.

The coalition vowed to continue working with Menjivar and community partners to advance youth sexual and reproductive health, according to its statement.

According to supporters, the number of sexually transmitted infections among young people in California continues to rise. The state Department of Public Health reported that in 2021, syphilis cases had risen by nearly 300 percent from 2011 to 2021, while gonorrhea cases jumped by nearly 170 percent and chlamydia by 13 percent over the same period.

Some high schools in California already make free condoms available, including high schools in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The measure would have required all public and charter high schools to make condoms available for students for free starting in the 2025–2026 school year.

Schools would also have been required to post a notice informing students of where to get the free condoms and where to find sexual and reproductive health information and resources.