UPDATE - House Bill HB-177 Health Education Amendment - The vote to pass the bill failed (4-7 )
**Parents Voices were Heard and HB 177 did not pass committee**
Your e-mails made all the difference! Our legislators mentioned several times the flood of e-mails they received. Because there was so much concern expressed about this bill our legislators did their due diligence in asking lots of questions and realized that our health standards already covered the critical topics without needing to add “consent”. It became clear that adding consent would open the door to Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE). This is a huge win for children.
HB177 notes:
The bill was substituted to change the grade that students would receive sex ed instruction beginning in 7th grade (the original bill would have begun instruction in 1st grade; current law states that it can begin in 8th grade). During the discussion, Rep. Robertson brought up Utah's newly revised health standards that covered topics such as sexual assault, resources, skills, etc, and asked what this bill would add if we are already covering these topics. Rep. Snow made the point that this bill would add language to allow children to consent to sexual acts, but our criminal code states that children cannot consent. He worried that if this language was added to the code, defense attorneys could use that as a defense for perpetrators. Rep. Birkeland spoke about her foster children who have come home upset after certain topics were discussed in school because it triggered past trauma, and she felt these topics would be best handled by the children's parents or trained counselors. Rep. Pulsipher felt the standards we have set at the state level are adequate and we should let parents and educators decide on the local level what the curriculum should look like, which will vary a little district to district depending on the needs of the students in each area. Rep Ballard spoke in favor of the bill. Rep. Kwan made the motion to pass the bill with a favorable recommendation after speaking for the bill. Rep. Snow made a motion to hold the bill. The vote to pass the bill failed (4-7 https://le.utah.gov/mtgvotes.jsp?voteid=19265). The vote to hold the bill passed (11-0 https://le.utah.gov/mtgvotes.jsp?voteid=19263). Holding the bill has the effect of killing the bill unless they get enough votes to bring it back again.
Here's the link to the whole discussion: https://le.utah.gov/av/committeeArchive.jsp...)
*Taken from DSD Parents focused on Choice in Education Facebook's page.
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This
bill proposes radical changes to Utah's sex education curriculum
mandating instruction on subjects related to human sexuality and sexual
behavior beginning in 1ST GRADE!
https://le.utah.gov/~2021/bills/static/HB0177.html
See lines 71 & 118
Remember the underlined portions of the bill are new language that they will be voting on.
Everything that is crossed out is what they hope to get rid of.
Everything that is not underlined is current law.
Take Action on this legislation NOW!!
This bill will be in committee on Monday, Feb 7 at 3:40 pm
What is it?
HB-177 Health Education Amendments
This bill proposes radical changes to Utah's sex education curriculum mandating instruction on subjects related to human sexuality and sexual behavior beginning in 1ST GRADE!
This bill would mandate the inclusion of teaching children "CONSENT". Thus, teaching children how to say “Yes” to sexual acts. It is against Utah state law for minors to engage in sexual acts, but this bill introduces the topic anyway.
Thinking points:
- Do parents have the right to decide what their kids are taught about Sex in public education. Who is the family? The school system?
- Does this belong in the schools. Are teachers responsible for teaching this to our children?
- Consent is used in COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION curricula to promote teaching children how to negotiate for sex.
- Because children are below the age of consent, they can't legally agree to engage in adult activities. This means a child saying yes is still a rape victim when they are sexually used. Instructing them on negotiating consent is inappropriate and is promoting illegal activity.
- We currently have the instruction of "REFUSAL SKILLS" in law. That is all children need to be taught -- how to say “no!
This Bill goes before the House Education Committee MONDAY, February 8, 2021 @ 3:40 pm
E-mail the Committee Members
Copy & paste email list:
Teaching Consent
"Comprehensive sexuality education programs are often promoted on grounds that they teach sexual consent, which will presumably help reduce sexual violence. Many policymakers, school boards, parents, and other gatekeepers assume that sexual consent curriculum focuses on refusal skills that will enable young people to refute unwanted sexual advances. However, teaching positive consent is often a major focus of CSE instruction. In other words, CSE often teaches children how to say yes to sex and shows them how to negotiate sexual situations. A common classroom strategy is to have a teacher or another student pose as a sexual aggressor or sexual partner, while another student practices giving and getting consent. One worksheet titled “Making Consent Clear” used in a ninth grade CSE class at Acalanes High School in California offered numerous statements such as “Can I take your shirt off?” as good examples of getting or giving sexual consent.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America produced a suite of videos about sexual consent.
These consent scenarios communicate that progressing from first kiss to possible sexual engagement in five minutes is healthy and normal, promote homosexual sex, show that sexual activity without long-term familiarity or long-term commitment is the norm, and portray that seeking pleasure is paramount—you just have to make sure your partner consents.
These kinds of materials are probably not what most parents and policymakers have in mind when they hear that CSE teaches sexual consent."
If any bill is put forward, it should insist on teaching REFUSAL SKILLS, not CONSENT. Minors cannot legally consent to sex. So would it not be an act of encouraging children to commit illegal activity (which I believe is forbidden by our current sex ed law) to teach children how to consent to sex?
It seems that since the opposition knows that they cannot get CSE past the vigilant mothers and fathers of this state, their new strategy is to push it through one element at a time.
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