A teacher who is fired for giving sex education lectures in her class defies the school board by continuing to give the lessons at her home. Rumors start making their way around town about what is really going on in her house.

Marcia Barrington, a progressive, young high school teacher, is forced to abandon teaching sex hygiene as part of her regular curriculum when the school principal, Mr. Price, and Wesley Nichols, a powerful member of the school board, object. Marcia's students, including Wesley's daughter, Alice, ask their teacher to continue the classes outside of school. Unaware that many of the permission slips are forged, Marcia agrees, much to the disapproval of her fiancé, Brad Martin. Trouble arises when Randy, a wild youth, lies to her mother, Irene, and tells her she spent the night at Alice's house when in fact she stayed with Pike Grover and his gang. Irene visits Wesley and mentions Marcia's classes. Wesley then returns the visit under the pretext of looking at Randy's notebooks on the class, whereupon Irene and Wesley begin an affair. Wesley's guilt causes him to pressure Mr. Price into firing Marcia. Meanwhile, Alice and her boyfriend Ray Stanton break up because Ray wants to tell Wesley of their love and Alice fears that her father will disapprove. When Ray begins to date Randy, Alice makes love to Ray and then confesses to her mother. Irene discovers she is pregnant because Randy had stolen her birth control pills and replaced them with saccharine. Irene has an abortion, and Randy, fearful that her mother will die, rushes to her and asks for her forgiveness. Irene rejects Wesley, who returns to his wife. All ends well when Mr. Price reinstates Marcia, Marcia and Brad marry, and Alice and Ray decide to finish school before they marry.