Oklahoma House Committee Advances Legislation Requiring Opt-In for Sex Education

The Oklahoma House committee narrowly voted to advance a proposal requiring parental consent for students to receive sexual education in schools. Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, introduced House Bill 3120, which also eliminates the mandate to teach consent during sexual encounters.

Under current law, parents must opt out if they do not want their child to undergo sexual education. However, Williams seeks to reverse this, making it necessary for parents to provide written permission for their child’s participation.

“People should know what their children are being exposed to,” Williams emphasized, recalling his own schooling without sexual education.

In addition to parental opt-in, Williams’ bill mandates lessons on biological sex classifications. It permits individuals to disregard preferred pronouns incongruent with their biological sex, like he or she.

Expressing concern that parents may overlook school notices, Rep. Williams aims to engage more parents in their children’s education. Rep. Nick Archer, R-Elk City, who opposed the bill, worries that parents supporting sexual education might miss the opt-in communications from schools.

Oklahoma struggles with high rates of HIV transmission and sexually transmitted infections, especially in rural areas. Archer noted that trained sexual education instructors are crucial in combatting these diseases.

Regarding consent education, Archer expressed unease about removing this mandatory teaching from the curriculum. Rep. Jay Steagall, R-Yukon, supports the opt-in approach, citing parental endorsement as positive reinforcement for children’s involvement.

However, Rep. Jared Deck, D-Norman, raised concerns about potential violations of federal laws prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational programs. He fears that students with disengaged parents could miss out on essential sex education, potentially impacting family dynamics.

Deck emphasized the importance of stable curriculum decisions for school districts and local control over educational content. The measure passed 4-3 and now moves to the full House for consideration.