Review and Comment on Model Policies for Sexually Explicit Materials!
The Virginia Department of Education’s Model Policies Concerning Instructional Materials with Sexually Explicit Content are up for public comment on the Virginia Regulatory Townhall website. The public comment period will end on August 3, 2022, but don’t wait until then to provide input on these incredibly important policies.
Here are some helpful comments that you could offer:
I support these critically important model policies in order to protect children from inappropriate sexual content at school and to respect parents’ right to determine whether their children are exposed to this content.
Not only do parents have a fundamental right to make these decisions, but they are also in the best position to know what is appropriate for their unique children.
Please also make sure through this document that there are certain specific actions that every school MUST take in order to ensure sexually explicit materials are correctly identified and seen by parents first. I am concerned that, unless certain minimum standards are expressly mandated (as opposed to providing examples or suggestions), many schools may find ways around what they consider to be mere guidance.
Click HERE to provide written public comment!
Pursuant to Senate Bill 656 (R-Dunnavant), the VDOE drafted model policies for local school divisions to follow that require each public elementary or secondary school to provide parental notification and review of instructional material that includes sexually explicit content and offer alternative instructional materials to any student whose parent objects to the curriculum.
Parents know their child best, and schools should partner with them to ensure the curricula content is appropriate for their maturity. Under Virginia law, parents have the fundamental right to make decisions about the education of their children, and this bill and these model policies are needed to ensure that right is not undermined by certain explicit school curriculum.
