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.
Current framework consists of a wide range of topics like Family Life and Human Sexuality, Safety and Violence Prevention, Healthy Eating, and Disease Prevention and Control.
Family Life and Human Sexuality is meant to "represent all students regardless of ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression."
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 parts covering STD prevention and unintended pregnancies.
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 section.
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.
