INDIANAPOLIS – Hoosier school boards would have authority over “human sexuality” instruction under legislation moving through the Indiana Statehouse. But opponents say local leaders already have a say in sex education curricula, and call the bill “hostile” towards LGBTQ students.
The GOP-backed measure advanced 8-5 from the Senate education committee on Wednesday and now heads to the full chamber.
Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, who authored Senate Bill 128, called it “a simple bill” that increases transparency for parents and gives school boards “direction” over learning materials they “don’t always know about.”
“This is a subject where teachers and parents have reached out to me with concerns. We all know conversations about sex ed are more sensitive than other subjects because families have different values and different ideals about what is appropriate to talk about.” Byrne said.
But critics of the bill argued the bill’s language is “ambiguous” and could prevent certain, or any, aspects of human sexuality from being taught to Hoosier students.
“Every person — not just straight, cisgender folks — need to see reflections of representations of themselves. To create a law that we know from other states can be easily misused and abused is dangerous,” said Emma Vosicky, executive director of Indianapolis-based nonprofit GenderNexus. “As Hoosiers, we should not create roadblocks to understanding and welcoming other people.”
Byrne’s bill provides that, if a school provides students instruction on human sexuality to kids in grades 4 through 12, the school board or other governing authority must first approve any related curricular materials in a public meeting and then publish an annual plan on its website.
Read the entire Indiana Capital Chronicle story by Casey Smith, here.
