No permission slips needed for sex ed in California schools, despite GOP effort

California Democrats blocked a contentious bill on Wednesday that would have required parents to sign permission slips for their younger kids to attend sex education classes in school.

Today, sex education instruction is required “at least once” for middle and high school students. School districts are also allowed to teach sex education for younger students in kindergarten through 6th grade.

But parents can opt their younger kids out of the sex education and HIV-prevention curriculum offered in California public schools under the California Healthy Youth Act. Students attend those classes unless their parents intervene.

State Sen. Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga, wrote a bill that would reverse current practice by requiring parents give schools permission before students attend a sex ed program.

Morrell said his office has received thousands of letters from concerned parents frustrated over a lack of transparency and certain elements of the curriculum taught to kids kindergarten through 6th grade.

“You go on a field trip, you need a permission slip,” Morrell said. “(Parents) should have an active way of signing their kids up just like they do on a field trip.”

The bill would also have required local education agencies to provide written and audio curriculum materials for parents to review, a provision that was generally supported by committee members and the opposition as a way to increase transparency and parental involvement.

Dozens of people attended a Senate committee hearing, where Morrell’s bill died on a 4-2 vote. No Democrats supported it.

Committee chairwoman Connie Leyva, D-Chino, said parents “should be involved in their children’s education,” but noted the curriculum does not violate age-appropriate standards.

“Part of the problem is parents are afraid to talk to their children about sex,” Leyva said, to boos and audience cries of “liar.”

The current law was written to provide middle and high school students with informational resources on sexual and reproductive health, protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. It touches on gender identity, body image, sexual orientation, relationships, marriage and family, according to the Department of Education.

Legal language requires objective “age-appropriate” and “medically accurate” information, and also instructs abstinence from sex and drug use as part of the curriculum.

Equality California, an advocacy group for gay, bisexual and transgender Californians, opposed Morrell’s bill, saying that the measure would strip students of the “public education that they deserve.”

“Nothing in (the law) removes parents from the equation. Parents have the full authority to opt their children out of this instruction,” said Tami Martin, the group’s legislative manager. But, she added “They don’t have the right to opt other parents’ kids out of that education.”

Data from the California Department of Public Health also show that adolescent birth rates dropped by more than 70 percent between 2000 and 2017. More students are waiting to have sex and are using contraception as well.

But the curriculum has had steady opposition since its implementation, with many religious groups and conservative organizations raising concern that the curriculum isn’t appropriate and violates parental control over what their pre-teen and younger children are taught in school.

Dozens of parents and religious leaders lined up during the Senate Education Committee hearing to support the legislation. The ACLU, NARAL Pro-Choice California and members of the state Parent Teacher Association also showed up to oppose SB 673.

At times, the hearing became a tense reflection of bipartisan values and religious frustration. One Democratic senator said the current law was an issue of public health, while a Republican said the policy infringes on parental consent.

“If you’re not sure what is going on in this building, we are having our own private version of Animal Farm,” said Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita. “Policymakers in this building want to raise your children.”

This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 12:20 PM.