Illinois Valley Times

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

In LaSalle County as of June 18, 24 of its districts said they would opt out of the provisions for younger children, while one district has yet to say if it 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
Allen-Otter Creek Community Consolidated School District 65	Opting out
Dimmick Community Consolidated School District 175	Opting out
Earlville Community Unit School District 9	Opting out
Grand Ridge Community Consolidated School District 95	Opting out
La Salle Elementary School District 122	Opting out
La Salle-Peru Township High School District 120	Opting out
Leland Community Unit School District 1	Opting out
Lostant Community Unit School District 425	Opting out
Marseilles Elementary School District 150	Opting out
Mendota Community Consolidated School District 289	Opting out
Mendota Township High School District 280	Opting out
Miller Township Community Consolidated School District 210	Opting out
Oglesby Elementary School District 125	Opting out
Ottawa Elementary School District 141	Opting out
Ottawa Township High School District 140	Opting out
Peru Elementary School District 124	Opting out
Rutland Community Consolidated School District 230	Opting out
CUSD #2 - Serena	Opting out
Seneca Community Consolidated School District 170	Waiting or no response
Seneca Township High School District 160	Opting out
Streator Elementary School District 44	Opting out
Streator Township High School District 40	Opting out
Tonica Community Consolidated School District 79	Opting out
Wallace Community Consolidated School District 195	Opting out
Waltham Community Consolidated School District 185	Opting out

Source: LGIS News Service