An Indiana legislative committee is dropping a proposal that would require parents to “opt in” for their children to take sex education classes in public schools.
Changes made Tuesday by the Indiana House Education Committee would keep in place current practice of allowing parents to withdraw their children from such classes. The new proposal would require schools to make two attempts to notify parents of the sex education curriculum before the classes start.
The committee also removed from the bill mentions of sexual orientation and gender identity as course subjects about which parents must be notified.
Committee members voted 8-5 to advance the bill to the full House.
Conservative groups backed the bill’s stricter version, citing worries about inappropriate class materials. But opponents say an “opt-in” measure would be burdensome.
