Illinois Valley Times

Nine school districts in Bureau County are opting out of Illinois’ new law that aligns sex education policies for grades K-12 with national standards.

In Bureau County as of June 18, nine school district have said they would opt out of the provisions for younger children, while three districts have yet to report whether they would opt out. The new law, which the state Legislature passed in the form of Senate Bill 818, allows districts to either opt out or adopt the sex education policies for younger children contained in the new law.

During discussions about the new policy in the Legislature, Republicans criticized the plan as being too explicit for young children. Among other provisions, sixth-graders would be expected to define phrases such as oral sex and anal sex, while third-graders would be taught to understand the act of masturbation.

Sex education advocates, however, say the new law won’t result in drastic changes for school districts since it backs up what many schools are already doing in the area of sex education.

The Catholic Conference of Illinois opposed SB 818 when it was being considered by the Legislature, arguing that although the plan offers parents an opt-out provision, many parents won’t be aware of their options. The provisions inappropriately call on fifth-graders to understand sexual orientation issues and for eighth-graders to describe how to put on a condom correctly, according to the Catholic Conference.

GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Darren Bailey, a state senator, has also come out strongly against the sex-education revisions. 

“Students in the second grade may soon be required to identify consent, gender identity and reproduction, while fourth- and fifth-graders would have to define different types of sex,” Bailey said in a prepared statement. “The bill is obscene and fails to align with community standards.” 

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Local School District Decisions on New Sex-ed Policy

School District	Positions on Sex-ed Standards
Bureau Valley Community Unit School District 340	Opting out
Dalzell School District 98	Opting out
Depue Unified School District 103	Waiting or no response
Hall High School District 502	Opting out
La Moille Community Unit School District 303	Opting out
Ladd Community Consolidated School District 94	Waiting or no response
Malden Community Consolidated School District 84	Opting out
Ohio Community Consolidated School District 17	Opting out
Ohio Consolidated High School District 505	Opting out
Princeton Elementary School District 115	Waiting or no response
Princeton High School District 500	Opting out
Spring Valley Community Consolidated School District 99	Opting out

Source: LGIS News Service