SexEducationinWisconsinPublicSchools.pdfVIP

Sex Education in Wisconsin  Public Schools:  Why Oppose a State‐Mandated Curriculum?  The Wisconsin Legislature is currently considering a proposal known as the “Healthy Youth Act” (Assembly Bill 458 and Senate Bill 324). These bills would revise existing law regarding human growth and development (sex education) instruction in Wisconsin’s public schools. The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) opposes this legislation and has prepared the following QA for parents, teachers, and other concerned citizens. An accompanying WCC Issue Brief provides further information on current law and the proposed changes. Q. Why should I oppose this legislation? A. There are a number of reasons to oppose this legislation, but the primary reason is that these bills substitute the judgment of the state for that of parents and local school committees on a topic that is deeply personal and where parental guidance is especially important to a child’s development. Q. How is this proposed legislation different from current law? A. The WCC Issue Brief outlines all the differences, but the most significant one is that the Healthy Youth Act would limit the options currently available to school districts by mandating that only so-called “comprehensive” sex education be taught in the public schools if any instruction in human growth and development is offered. Currently, local advisory committees comprised of parents, teachers, school administrators, students, health care professionals, clergy, and other community members assist school districts with the development, review, and implementation of human growth and development curricula. These committees have the flexibility to select curricula that are the most appropriate for their students and that best reflect the community’s values. The two major types of curricula that school districts can choose from are compreh