Peoria Standard

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

In Tazewell County as of June 18, 11 of its districts said they would opt out of the provisions for younger children, while seven other districts have yet to say if 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.” 

---

Local School District Decisions on New Sex-ed Policy

School District	Positions on Sex-ed Standards
Central School District 51	Opting out
Creve Coeur School District 76	Waiting or no response
Deer Creek-Mackinaw Community Unit School District 701	Opting out
Delavan Community Unit School District 703	Opting out
District 50 Schools	Waiting or no response
East Peoria Consolidated High School District 309	Opting out
East Peoria School District 86	Waiting or no response
Morton Community Unit School District 709	Opting out
N Pekin & Marquette Heights School District 102	Opting out
Pekin School District 108	Opting out
Pekin School District 303	Waiting or no response
Rankin School District 98	Opting out
Robein School District 85	Waiting or no response
South Pekin School District 137	Opting out
Spring Lake Community Consolidated School District 606	Waiting or no response
Tremont Community Unit School District 702	Opting out
Washington Consolidated High School District 308	Waiting or no response
Washington School District 52	Opting out

Source: LGIS News Service