Last-minute change to human sexuality bill removes requirement to teach topic of consent
A last-minute change to an Indiana General Assembly bill on human sexuality instruction in Indiana's K-12 schools eliminates a proposed requirement that such instruction teach the importance of consent to sexual activity.
State Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, on Monday morning announced the change to House Bill 442, which also requires that school districts publish a list of materials used in connection with instruction on human sexuality and makes other changes aimed at increasing oversight of what's taught regarding sexual education in public schools. The original version of Byrne's bill did not contain the consent language, so the change isn't out of left field.
Byrne said local school boards would still be able to choose whether or not to talk about the topic of consent, but he said there "may be different thoughts in different communities."
"That can still happen," Byrne said. "We're not going to require it in this bill."
The change to eliminate required teaching about consent to sexual activity is included in a conference committee report that now requires signatures from lawmakers in the House and Senate. Both chambers will then have to give the bill a final vote before it's sent to Gov. Mike Braun. That means there's still time for the bill to change before it crosses the finish line.
House and Senate Democrats immediately questioned the removal of required consent language after Byrne announced it, with state Rep. Tonya Pfaff, D-Terre Haute, saying teaching consent helps both boys and girls who might not otherwise be taught that "they can say no."
Pfaff had previously convinced the Indiana House to add the consent language in the bill, which wasn't in Byrne's original version of the bill.
"I don't understand how we could possibly not agree to consent to teach that as part of human sexuality," Pfaff said.
State Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, said Indiana already has a problem with youth being subjected to sexual assault before they even leave high school.
An Indiana Department of Health 2020 report found that more than 13% of high school girls in Indiana and 6.4% of high school boys here reported being physically forced to have unwanted sexual intercourse, and that instances of underreporting are high among Hoosier youth.
"This is really important," Hunley said.
Rep. Becky Cash, R-Zionsville, asked Byrne for a consideration "to put consent as age-appropriate" back in the bill.
"If we were teaching this in sixth or seventh grade, it might be, 'We stay in our bubble, right? We don't touch somebody,'" Cash said. "If you decide to leave it in there, maybe it could be an alignment with age appropriateness."
Byrne did not immediately reply to IndyStar's request for comment about the change to the bill.
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