A slew of Senate bills, including one addressing how school boards handle sex education, crossed the third reading deadline Tuesday and move to the House for further consideration. (Getty Images)
A bill putting school boards “in the driver’s seat” on “human sexuality” instruction faced fierce opposition on Tuesday from Democrats worried it would restrict teaching on LGBTQ identities.
The Senate measure passed the third reading deadline 38-10, along with over two dozen other bills. All head to the House for further consideration in the second half of the 2024 legislative session.
Sen. Gary Byrne. R-(Photo from Indiana House Republicans)
Sen. Gary Byrne, the author, painted the proposal as a transparency move that would publicize materials from sex education classes online and give school boards the final say over curriculum.
“We already have a law in Indiana that allows parents to remove their child from a sex ed class if they do not want the child to receive those lessons. So publishing this information would just help parents better decide whether they want to opt out,” said Byrne, R-Byrnesville. “… families have different values and different ideals about what is appropriate to talk about or when it’s appropriate to talk about it.”