ANNAPOLIS, Md. — New legislation being considered in the Maryland General Assembly would prohibit parents from opting their children out of learning about gender identity and sexual orientation in school.
House Bill 161sponsored by Delegates Vanessa E. Atterbeary (District 13 - Howard County) and Kris Fair (District 3 - Frederick County) aims to modify the State Department of Education's current framework for Health Education.
The current state curriculum includes a wide range of categories like Family Life and Human Sexuality, Safety and Violence Prevention, Healthy Eating, and Disease Prevention and Control.
According to the Maryland Comprehensive Health Education Framework, Family Life and Human Sexuality subjects include gender identity and sexual orientation.
"The family life and human sexuality component of the regulation and framework represents all students regardless of ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Concepts and skills related to family life and human sexuality must be age appropriate and taught by teachers who have had additional preparation in content and teaching methods of the material. The framework is not instructional material for classroom use; it is intended to guide educational professionals in developing curricula that is adopted by the local boards. Local educational professionals should ensure that lessons and content are age appropriate and reflect educational equity."
These lessons start getting taught as early as prekindergarten through tenth grade.
As the rules stand now, parents can opt students out of these classes, with exception to portions covering STD prevention and birth control.
Atterbeary and Fair's bill removes sexual orientation and gender identity from the Family Life and Human Sexuality category, to its own section.
While the proposal continues allowing parents to opt students out of the Family Life and Human Sexuality category, they'd no longer have the option to shield their child from instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, since it would fall under its own category.
Montgomery County Public Schools adopted a similar policy last year, prompting parents to sue. So far courts have rejected those efforts, but thecase is now pending before the United States Supreme Court.
This new legislation has already advanced out of the State House, and is awaiting a Senate committee vote.
If the bill were to become state law, it would go into effect July 1.
