Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: The guidance document "Model Policies Concerning Instructional Materials with Sexually Explicit Content" was developed in conjunction with stakeholders in order to comply with SB656 (2022).
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7/29/22  11:44 am
Commenter: Drew Lopenzina

Strongly Oppose
 

What is regarded as "sexual content" is often highly subjective and can be interpreted in many different ways that might equally include the Christian bible, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Sexual Education information, or Dick and Jane readers of bygone times. In the absence of a clear definition of "sexual content" in the proposal itself, I am led to assume that parents might throw up objections based on broad or politicized interpretations of the term in ways that will disrupt rather than facilitate learning. There is already a rigorous vetting process for hiring teachers and choosing educational materials, with parental input able to enter in at many levels of that process. But offering individual parents direct input over educational materials in the classroom creates a kind of instructional free-for-all that will only further undermine teachers and drain our system of qualified educators. It is also likely to inhibit broader educational pursuits. Parents who want to exercise this kind of granular control over their childrens' education should consider homeschooling. 

CommentID: 124163