ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Senate has revamped a bill originally introduced in the State House of Delegates that would've barred parents from opting young school children out of learning about gender identity and sexual orientation.
House Bill 161, initially sponsored by Democratic Delegates Vanessa E. Atterbeary (District 13 - Howard County) and Kris Fair (District 3 - Frederick County), aimed to modify the State Department of Education's curriculum on Family Life and Human Sexuality.
Existing State guidelines permit parents to opt children out of lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Atterbeary and Fair's legislation would've taken away the opt-out, forcing students starting in kindergarten to sit for these lessons.
After hearing opposition from the State Department of Education, Senators chose to amend the bill, keeping a parent's right to opt-out.
The original House version of the bill stated this:
"The State Department of Education, in collaboration with the 5 Maryland Department of Health, to develop a comprehensive health education framework; requiring each county board of education to create an age–appropriate curriculum that is consistent with the comprehensive health education framework; requiring each county board to establish policies, guidelines, and procedures for a parent or guardian to opt out of a certain topic for the parent’s or guardian’s student, subject to a certain prohibition and requirement; and generally relating to the establishment of a comprehensive health education framework in public schools."
The Senate's revised version, which passed and is now awaiting Governor Wes Moore's signature, says this:
“Each county board of education to adopt curriculum guides and courses of study aligned with content standards established by the State Department of Education; establishing a process for correcting discrepancies identified by the State Superintendent of Schools in a county board’s curriculum guides and courses of study, including the imposition of certain penalties; and generally relating to a county board of education’s curriculum guides and courses of study."
