Originally published on May 27, 2021 1:35 pm
Democratic state lawmakers want to adopt state sex education standards that are aligned with a national model. But Republicans say the national standards would require teachers to present explicit material at too young an age.
In Illinois, public schools aren’t required to offer sex education courses. Earlier in the spring legislative session, State Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Addison) proposed mandating sex ed and aligning that curriculum with culturally competent and medically accurate standards.
“Things are not being taught in schools and students are exploring the Internet on their own and they can end up with misinformation, and that is not what we want to see,” Willis said at a House committee hearing earlier this week.
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Sputnik International
Most of US Wants Sex Ed in Schools. Why Isnât It Federally Mandated and Funded?
Lauren Walker / Truthout; Adapted: Narisara Nami / Javier Zayas Photography / Getty Images
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When Healing to Action, a survivor-led organization working to end gender-based violence in Chicago, teamed up with the Chicago Teachers Union to assess the cityâs implementation of a 2013 mandate to teach sexual education in public schools, they uncovered vast disparities. Seventy percent of Windy City K-12 youth were not receiving the full sequence of intended instruction, missing critical lessons on subjects as diverse as anatomy, sexual desire and expression, gender identity, pregnancy, sexual abuse, personal hygiene, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic and dating violence, contraception and abortion.