SB 656

Abstract

Department of Education; local school boards; policies on sexually explicit content in instructional material. Requires the Department of Education to develop no later than July 31, 2022, model policies and each local school board to adopt no later than January 1, 2023, policies for ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content and include information, guidance, procedures, and standards relating to (i) ensuring parental notification; (ii) directly identifying the specific instructional material and sexually explicit subjects; and (iii) permitting the parent of any student to review instructional material that includes sexually explicit content and provide, as an alternative, nonexplicit instructional material and related academic activities to any student whose parent so requests. The bill provides that the local school board policies shall be consistent with but may be more comprehensive than the model policies developed by the Department. The bill states that the provisions of the bill shall not be construed as requiring or providing for the censoring of books in public elementary and secondary schools.

Board of Education; policy on sexually explicitinstructional material. Requires the Board of Education to establish,and each local school board to comply with, a policy to require each public elementary or secondary school to (i) notify the parent ofany student whose teacher reasonably expects to provide instructionalmaterial that includes sexually explicit content, (ii) permit theparent of any student to review instructional material that includessexually explicit content upon request, and (iii) provide, as analternative to instructional material and related academic activitiesthat include sexually explicit content, nonexplicit instructionalmaterial and related academic activities to any student whose parentso requests.