Update 1/15/2020: The bill has been pulled by its sponsor. NCAC will continue to monitor legislative activity in Arizona regarding sexual education in public schools.
Original post 1/13/2020:
After months of public attacks on the state’s sexual education curriculum, with a particular emphasis on It’s Perfectly Normal, a guide to sexual health, state legislators in Arizona have introduced a bill that would restrict sex ed in the state.
Senator Sylvia Allen has introduced a bill that would ban the teaching of sex ed before seventh grade, regardless of the needs of particular communities or school districts. The bill also removes language discussing homosexuality from existing school materials. Senator Allen has suggested that this removal was an oversight, but Democrats in the state legislature worry this is an attempt to undo the recent repeal of Arizona’s “no promo homo” law that banned “promoting homosexuality” or “suggesting that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex.”
The legislation will have a hearing next week.