Illinois school districts are now deciding whether or not to opt out of the state's new sex education policy for young children. | Pexels.com / Cottonbro
Illinois school districts are now deciding whether or not to opt out of the state's new sex education policy for young children. | Pexels.com / Cottonbro
Thirty-seven school districts in Lake County are mum on Illinois’ new law that aligns sex education policies for grades K-12 with national standards..
In Lake County as of June 18, 37 of its districts have yet to say if they would opt out of the provisions for younger children, while nine districts are opting out of the sex-ed provisions. The new law, which the state Legislature passed in the form of Senate Bill 818, allows districts to either opt out or adopt the sex education policies for younger children contained in the new law.
During discussions about the new policy in the Legislature, Republicans criticized the plan as being too explicit for young children. Among other provisions, sixth-graders would be expected to define phrases such as oral sex and anal sex, while third-graders would be taught to understand the act of masturbation.
Sex education advocates, however, say the new law won’t result in drastic changes for school districts since it backs up what many schools are already doing in the area of sex education.
The Catholic Conference of Illinois opposed SB 818 when it was being considered by the Legislature, arguing that although the plan offers parents an opt-out provision, many parents won’t be aware of their options. The provisions inappropriately call on fifth-graders to understand sexual orientation issues and for eighth-graders to describe how to put on a condom correctly, according to the Catholic Conference.
GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Darren Bailey, a state senator, has also come out strongly against the sex-education revisions.
“Students in the second grade may soon be required to identify consent, gender identity and reproduction, while fourth- and fifth-graders would have to define different types of sex,” Bailey said in a prepared statement. “The bill is obscene and fails to align with community standards.”
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Local School District Decisions on New Sex-ed Policy
| School District | Positions on Sex-ed Standards |
| Antioch CCSD 34 | Waiting or no response |
| Adlai E Stevenson High School District 125 | Waiting or no response |
| Aptakisic-Tripp Community Consolidated School
District 102 | Waiting or no response |
| Bannockburn School District 106 | Waiting or no response |
| Barrington Community Unit School District 220 | Waiting or no response |
| Beach Park Community Consolidated School
District 3 | Waiting or no response |
| Big Hollow School District 38 | Waiting or no response |
| Consolidated High School District 117 | Waiting or no response |
| Consolidated High School District 128 | Waiting or no response |
| Deerfield School District 129 | Waiting or no response |
| Diamond Lake School District 76 | Opting out |
| Emmons School District 33 | Opting out |
| Fox Lake School District 114 | Waiting or no response |
| Fremont School District 79 | Opting out |
| Gavin School District 37 | Waiting or no response |
| Grant Consolidated High School District 124 | Waiting or no response |
| Grass Lake School District 36 | Waiting or no response |
| Grayslake Community Consolidated School
District 46 | Waiting or no response |
| Grayslake Consolidated High School District 127 | Waiting or no response |
| Gurnee School District 56 | Waiting or no response |
| Hawthorn Community Consolidated School
District 73 | Waiting or no response |
| Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96 | Waiting or no response |
| Lake Bluff Elementary School District 65 | Waiting or no response |
| Lake Forest Consolidated High School District 115 | Waiting or no response |
| Lake Forest School District 67 | Waiting or no response |
| Lake Villa Community Consolidated School District 41 | Waiting or no response |
| Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 | Opting out |
| Libertyville School District 70 | Waiting or no response |
| Lincolnshire-Prairieview School District 103 | Waiting or no response |
| Millburn Community Consolidated School District 24 | Opting out |
| Mundelein Consolidated High School District 120 | Waiting or no response |
| Mundelein Elementary School District 75 | Opting out |
| North Chicago School District 187 | Opting out |
| North Shore School District 112 | Opting out |
| Oak Grove School District 68 | Waiting or no response |
| Prairie Crossing Charter | Waiting or no response |
| Rondout School District 72 | Waiting or no response |
| Round Lake Community Unit School District 116 | Waiting or no response |
| Township High School District 113 | Waiting or no response |
| Warren Township High School District 121 | Waiting or no response |
| Wauconda Community Unit School District 118 | Waiting or no response |
| Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 | Waiting or no response |
| Winthrop Harbor School District 1 | Waiting or no response |
| Woodland Community Consolidated School
District 50 | Opting out |
| Zion Elementary School District 6 | Waiting or no response |
| Zion-Benton Township High School District 126 | Waiting or no response |
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