After pushback, requirement for Indiana schools to teach consent in sex education returned to bill

Two days after plans were announced to delete a proposed requirement for K-12 schools to teach about consent during sex education instruction, Republicans reversed before sending the final — edited — version to the governor.

Last-minute changes to Senate Bill 442, a “human sexuality instruction” measure, were detailed Monday during a brief conference committee meeting.

The underlying legislation requires any materials used to teach “human sexuality” for grades 4-12 be approved by a school board and posted online. Additional language would mandate that elementary school students watch a three-minute ultrasound video of fetal development if they participate in human sexuality coursework.

In contention, though, was a provision to require any sex education curriculum to include instruction on “the importance of consent to sexual activity.”

Last-minute change removes requirement for Indiana schools to teach consent in sex education

Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, said earlier in the week that he intended to get rid of the language in the final version of his bill. He pointed to “different thoughts in different communities” and preferred to let school boards decide if local curricula include topics on consent.

The removal drew sharp pushback from Democrats on the conference committee, and Byrne backtracked the decision in a Wednesday morning statement.

“The primary goal of Senate Bill 442 is to promote transparency in sexual education curriculum by requiring that curriculum to be approved by school boards and posted publicly online,” he said. “The new conference committee report, which I approved yesterday morning, will also retain language added by the House of Representatives, which would require schools to teach about the importance of consent to sexual activity in an age-appropriate way and teach about fetal development during pregnancy. I look forward to shepherding this bill through the rest of the legislative process.”

The conference committee report specifically requires any human sexuality and sex education teachings to “include age appropriate instruction concerning the importance of consent to sexual activity between two individuals.”

The House approved the changes in a 72-20 vote, without any discussion.

Senate Democrats remained opposed, however, and debate in that chamber lasted more an hour before a final 35-12 vote sent the bill to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.

Some continued to express concern about the ultrasound video requirements, while others took issue with the overall premise of the bill.

“We spend so much time talking about local control. Even this bill, the underlying argument is giving local control over what gets taught. And I just think that this actually takes us in another direction of being overly prescriptive,” said Senate Minority leader Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington.

“I do commend Sen. Byrne for adding the importance of teaching consent and letting the local school board decide what those curriculum materials will be,” she continued. “But to be so prescriptive on what this is going to be is problematic. … The whole bill is a mandate.”

The introduction of sex education usually starts in the fourth grade, according to state guidelines. But Indiana does not require the course in schools. Instead, it only mandates that schools teach lessons on HIV and AIDS. Schools that do teach sex education are expected to focus on abstinence.

Critics of the bill have argued that school boards already have the authority to review and approve curricular materials. State law further requires school corporations to make instructional materials available to parents so that they can consent to instruction on human sexuality.