Grundy Reporter

Twelve school districts in Grundy County are opting out of Illinois’ new law that aligns sex education policies for grades K-12 with national standards.

In Grundy County as of June 18, all 12 of its school districts said they would opt out of the provisions for younger children. The new law, which the state Legislature passed in the form of Senate Bill 818, allows districts to either opt out or adopt the sex education policies for younger children contained in the new law.

During discussions about the new policy in the Legislature, Republicans criticized the plan as being too explicit for young children. Among other provisions, sixth-graders would be expected to define phrases such as oral sex and anal sex, while third-graders would be taught to understand the act of masturbation.

Sex education advocates, however, say the new law won’t result in drastic changes for school districts since it backs up what many schools are already doing in the area of sex education.

The Catholic Conference of Illinois opposed SB 818 when it was being considered by the Legislature, arguing that although the plan offers parents an opt-out provision, many parents won’t be aware of their options. The provisions inappropriately call on fifth-graders to understand sexual orientation issues and for eighth-graders to describe how to put on a condom correctly, according to the Catholic Conference.

GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Darren Bailey, a state senator, has also come out strongly against the sex-education revisions. 

“Students in the second grade may soon be required to identify consent, gender identity and reproduction, while fourth- and fifth-graders would have to define different types of sex,” Bailey said in a prepared statement. “The bill is obscene and fails to align with community standards.” 

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Local School District Decisions on New Sex-ed Policy

School District	Positions on Sex-ed Standards
Braceville School District 75	Opting out
Coal City Community Unit School District 1	Opting out
Gardner Community Consolidated School District 72C	Opting out
Gardner S Wilmington Township High School District 73	Opting out
Mazon-Verona-Kinsman Elementary School District 2C	Opting out
Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201	Opting out
Minooka Consolidated High School District 111	Opting out
Morris Consolidated High School District 101	Opting out
Morris School District 54	Opting out
Nettle Creek Community Consolidated School District 24C	Opting out
Saratoga Community Consolidated School District 60C	Opting out
South Wilmington Community Consolidated School District 74	Opting out

Source: LGIS News Service