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Last-minute change removes requirement for Indiana schools to teach consent in sex education

By Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

Posted April 22, 2025

Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, reviews paperwork in the Senate chamber on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

A Republican senator detailed changes to a contentious sex education bill on Monday, including deletion of a proposed requirement for K-12 schools to teach about consent.

The last-minute edits to Senate Bill 442 were announced during a 13-minute conference committee meeting. Public testimony was allowed but none was provided.

The conference committee proposal had not been signed and officially approved as of Monday evening, however, meaning the bill’s provisions could still change.

Earlier versions of the legislation required any materials used to teach “human sexuality” for grades 4-12 be approved by a school board and include instruction on “the importance of consent to sexual activity.”

The latest proposed draft retained a mandate for districts to publish a list of materials used in connection with instruction on human sexuality. Bill author Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, said tweaks were also made to requirements surrounding permission forms that must be sent to parents about such instruction.

Expected to stay in the bill, too, are requirements for elementary school students to watch a three-minute ultrasound video of fetal development if they participate in human sexuality coursework.

Byrne said he preferred to let school boards decide if local curricula include topics on consent.

“(Teaching about consent) can still happen. We’re just not going to require that in this bill,” he said. “This is a sensitive subject for many. I believe it may be different thoughts in different communities, and … this leaves, for the most part, local control on making those decisions.”

Brief discussion among lawmakers drew continued concerns from House and Senate Democrats on the committee.

“I don’t understand how we could possibly not agree to teach that as part of human sexuality,” said Rep. Tonya Pfaff, D-Terre Haute. “For consent, it protects both boy and girl — man and woman. We are talking about teenagers that sometimes don’t learn that they can say no.”

The introduction of sex education usually starts in the fourth grade, according to state guidelines. But Indiana does not require the course in schools. Instead, it only mandates that schools teach lessons on HIV and AIDS. Schools that do teach sex education are expected to focus on abstinence.

Critics of the bill have argued that school boards already have the authority to review and approve curricular materials. State law further requires school corporations to make instructional materials available to parents so that they can consent to instruction on human sexuality.

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Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.