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
Nineteen school districts in St. Clair County are mum on Illinois’ new law that aligns sex education policies for grades K-12 with national standards.
In St. Clair County as of June 18, eight of its districts said they would opt out of the provisions for younger children, while 19 other districts have yet to say if they would opt out. 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 |
| Belle Valley School District 119 | Waiting or no response |
| Belleville School District 118 | Waiting or no response |
| Belleville Township High School District 201 | Waiting or no response |
| Brooklyn Unit School District 188 | Waiting or no response |
| Cahokia Community Unit School District 187 | Waiting or no response |
| Central School District 104 | Waiting or no response |
| Dupo Community Unit School District 196 | Waiting or no response |
| East St Louis School District 189 | Waiting or no response |
| Freeburg Community Consolidated School
District 70 | Waiting or no response |
| Freeburg Consolidated High School District 77 | Waiting or no response |
| Grant Community Consolidated School District 110 | Opting out |
| Harmony Emge School District 175 | Waiting or no response |
| High Mount School District 116 | Opting out |
| Lebanon Community Unit School District 9 | Opting out |
| Marissa Community Unit School District 40 | Opting out |
| Mascoutah Community Union District 19 | Waiting or no response |
| Millstadt Community Consolidated School District 160 | Waiting or no response |
| New Athens Community Unit School District 60 | Opting out |
| O Fallon Community Consolidated School
District 90 | Opting out |
| O Fallon Township High School District 203 | Waiting or no response |
| Pontiac-W Holliday School District 105 | Waiting or no response |
| Shiloh Village School District 85 | Waiting or no response |
| Signal Hill School District 181 | Waiting or no response |
| Smithton Community Consolidated School District 130 | Opting out |
| St Libory Consolidated School District 30 | Waiting or no response |
| Whiteside School District 115 | Opting out |
| Wolf Branch School District 113 | Waiting or no response |
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