Oklahoma bill would shift sex education to opt-in, limit teaching HIV/AIDS or contraception
During a committee hearing Tuesday, legislators debated the merits of a bill that would change sex education in schools from an opt-out system to an opt-in.
The bill also would mandate what can or cannot be included in sex education, including requiring an abstinence-first teaching model, limiting LGBTQ+ sex education, new teaching requirements regarding AIDS, and prohibiting the teaching of consent.
The bill, House Bill 3120, would amend the "Parents Bill of Rights" and passed in a committee hearing by a 4-to-3 vote Tuesday.
Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, authored the bill and said his goal is "to put the permissions and the responsibility in the hands of parents or guardians" when it comes to sex education.
In Oklahoma, sex education is not required, but schools must provide HIV/AIDS prevention instruction and health education.
Right now, parents and guardians can opt out of any sex education being offered at their student's school. The bill would make it so only students whose parents opt-in will be able to attend sex education classes or curriculum.
Oklahoma sex ed bill attributes STI's to 'lifestyle choices'
During the discussion of the bill, several committee members raised concerns about the bill's impact on Oklahoma students.
Rep. Jared Deck, D-Norman, said between 1996 and 2020, during the era of more sex education being brought into public schools, teen pregnancy has dropped dramatically in Oklahoma.
Williams said he did not believe there was a correlation between sex education and the prevention of teen pregnancy, but rather it depends on the prevalence of "promiscuity" in a specific time period.
Deck also cited statistics in which Oklahoma's sexually transmitted infection rates, specifically syphilis, are increasing namely for older Oklahoma residents who did not receive a comprehensive sex education.
"On STD's, can you give me a definition of that?" Williams said.
Williams told The Oklahoman he had learned the term STD rather than STI, and wanted to clarify Deck didn't mean something else entirely before addressing his concerns.
After Deck clarified what STI is short for, Williams said through his work with those recovering from addiction, he believed you could attribute those infections to "drugs and alcohol," as well as "lack of responsibility and lifestyle choices."
More: Oklahoma legislature considering over 50 bills targeting LGBTQ+ issues. What do they say?
What Oklahoma sex ed bill says about AIDS education
HB 3120 would limit the discussion of AIDS, and places guidelines for education related to the disease. It would require curriculum and materials related to AIDS prevention education to be available for inspection by parents and guardians.
The bill also would mandate that AIDS prevention education specifically teach students that:
Engaging in “homosexual activity, promiscuous sexual activity, intravenous drug use or contact with contaminated blood products is now known to be primarily responsible for contact with the AIDS virus”
Avoiding those activities is the only method of preventing the spread of AIDS
Sex, with or without condoms, with anyone testing positive for HIV, places a high risk for developing AIDS
HB 3120 requires students to be taught that abstinence is the only method to prevent the spread or contraction of AIDS.
What else would Oklahoma sex ed bill do?
The bill would require parents to opt their children into sex education. In sex education containing instruction in human sexuality, the bill would require schools to:
Teach that “biological males impregnate biological females” by fertilizing the egg with sperm, and that “these reproductive roles are binary, stable, and unchangeable”
Teach abstinence from sex outside of marriage as the standard for all students while “teaching the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage”
Emphasize that abstinence is the only way to avoid “out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS, and other associated health problems”
Teach that each student has the power to control personal behavior and encourage students to base actions on reasoning, self-esteem, and respect for others
Provide instruction and material that is appropriate for the grade and age of the student
Require every Oklahoma or charter school to adhere to the policy "that a person's sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to the person's sex"
Oklahoma sex ed bill would prohibit endorsing non-heterosexual orientations
The bill prohibits certain topics from sex education, such as:
Teaching consent and negotiation skills for sex
Endorsement or promotion of “non-heterosexual orientations as preferable to heterosexual orientations”
Teaching gender identity and gender expression outside the “binary concept of male and female, without emphasizing the biological basis of sex”
Instruction specifically for exploring gender identity or sexual orientation
Advocacy of sexual activity outside of marriage
Advocacy of any form of sexual activity that deviates from the “understanding of sexual norms within a traditional family structure”
Information about contraceptive methods without emphasizing their potential risks and failure rates
Abortion presented as a safe, reproductive health care choice and right
Oklahoma legislators point out need to teach students consent
House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said she was concerned that the bill would prohibit schools from teaching about consent in sex education.
Munson said teaching students about consent helps them have autonomy over their bodies and know how to protect themselves from non-consensual activities.
Williams said his intent in removing that is to encourage more parental involvement.
He later told The Oklahoman he intended to add language that was previously struck from the bill, stating sex education curriculum must include information about consent.
"As a father of a 3-year-old girl, that notion of consent is extremely important to me," said Rep. Nick Archer, R-Elk City. "So I appreciate your willingness to work with us."
However, Williams said he did not yet know if he would be changing language in the bill that prohibits "teaching consent and negotiation skills for sexual activity." He said he is working with staff and an attorney to determine "what it means exactly, and then what we need to do."
"I want to make sure ... that it's not something that may have just been misdrafted," Williams said.
Would Oklahoma sex ed bill forcibly out queer students?
HB 3120 would require school districts to adopt procedures for notifying a student’s parent if there’s a change in the student’s services or monitoring related to their mental, emotional or physical health or well-being.
The original iteration of the bill allowed school districts to withhold such information from a parent if “a reasonably prudent person” believed disclosure would result in abuse. The latest version, as amended, doesn't include this stipulation, which Cindy Nguyen, policy director of ACLU of Oklahoma, said would forcibly out queer students.
If passed, the bill would codify rules passed by the Oklahoma State Board of Education last year, Nguyen said. In March 2023, the board approved a requirement that schools notify a student's parents if the child changes gender identity or pronouns.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma bill make sex ed opt-in, limit teaching contraception
