Vast Majority of Illinois School Districts Have Opted Out of Radical Sex Ed Standards

The grassroots website Awake-Illinois is reporting that only 23 of 860 school districts in the state have decided to adopt radical sex education standards, based on a national model, while 536 districts have thus far opted out.

Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) signed SB 818 into law in August 2021, with his office claiming the standards are “voluntary” and will “emphasize health, safety, and inclusivity with age-appropriate resources.”

“School districts do not have to adopt the voluntary standards unless they are teaching comprehensive sexual health education, and parents can choose to opt out,” the statement from the governor’s office said.

Awake-Illinois’ list of schools and districts that have opted out of the standards for the upcoming 2022-2023 academic year is reportedly updated daily and can be found here.

To date, of 860 school districts, 536 say they are opting out of the sex ed standards, 45 are “waiting,” 256 have not responded, and 23 have decided to fully adopt them.

According to the standards, children in grades K-2 must be able to “define gender, gender identity and gender-role stereotypes,” and “discuss the range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may limit behavior.”

Children in grade 3 must learn to “distinguish between sex assigned at birth and gender identity and explain how they may or may not differ;” “define and explain differences between cisgender, transgender, gender nonbinary, gender expansive, and gender identity;” and “explain that gender expression and gender identity exist along a spectrum.”… (Excerpt from The Pennsylvania Daily Star)