The abortion wars trump common sense on the right. We sent out the following press release this afternoon:
PROPOSED LEGISLATION ADDS NEW AND UNNECESSARY OBSTACLES FOR EFFECTIVE SEX EDUCATION IN TEXAS SCHOOLS
State Law Already Requires Informing Parents on Sex Ed, Right to Opt Out
The Texas Freedom Network is releasing the following statement regarding the filing of House Bill 1057 by state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano. HB 1057 would require schools to obtain prior permission from parents before providing students with sex education instruction from entities or individuals other than the school district. It would also forbid entities affiliated with an abortion provider from providing sex education instruction in public schools.
This statement is from Dan Quinn, TFN’s communications director:
“In a state with the one of the highest teen birth rates in the nation, this bill would make it harder for schools to teach effective sex education. As it should, state law already requires public schools to tell parents what they are teaching about sex education and inform them of their right to review the curriculum and opt their children out of such classes. This bill simply imposes new and completely unnecessary bureaucratic burdens on school districts at a time when the Legislature has already been cutting billions of dollars from public education.
The only thing sex education has to do with abortion is making it less likely a teen will get pregnant and seek one. Lawmakers would do Texas families a big favor if they stopped trying to drag our public schools and health care into the abortion wars.
Moreover, if Rep. Leach really wants to improve sex education in Texas, he’ll support legislation that requires information in such classes be medically accurate. The Legislature has repeatedly refused to pass such a requirement because it would bar abstinence-only programs that teach myths, exaggerations and outright false information about contraception.”
The Texas Freedom Network Education Fund has released two in-depth reports on what the state’s public schools are teaching in their sex education classes. Those reports are available here and here. Our 2011 report found that about half of the 677 school districts responding to the Texas Education Agency’s 2010-11 School Health Survey used curriculum materials from outside vendors, including both abstinence-only and abstinence-plus vendors.
Texas legislature is such a joke. Do they have any idea what is really important to Texans? I am ashamed to be from Texas when I see silliness like this. Turn Texas Blue!
This would make us officially and formally more backwards than Mississippi.
It’s enough to make me want to go back to college and start after-school classes in reality.
Does this surprise anyone?
The SBOE wants to teach all viewpoints about evolution. Why not do the same with sex-ed?
Time to renew my TFN membership!
Time to stop tweeting and say something substantial.
Thank you for this post. We need more sense in our schools! It’s not only a matter of dire economic importance for these kids (and the nation), but it is a fundamental human right that our young people learn from those older than them how to be safe, smart, protected and proactive in a world chock full of opportunities to make mistakes that will have life-long effects.