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Bipartisan bill to allow Ohio's schools to educate kids about sexual abuse hits a snag

By Jo Ingles

Published November 19, 2021 at 7:55 PM EST

child with head buried in hands [Cameleonseye / Shutterstock] — child with head buried in hands

At least three dozen states have passed a law that requires age-appropriate instruction of child sexual abuse education prevention in schools. And a similar bill is in an Ohio Senate committee now.

There was bipartisan support when the House passed the bill earlier this year. But Aaron Baer with the Center for Christian Virtue says his group is opposed because it doesn’t have an opt-out requirement for parents and doesn’t prevent some groups from providing the educational materials.

“A lot of this curriculum, the sexual violence prevention, is the same people like Planned Parenthood or SEICUS that want to teach inappropriate sexual curriculum to children at young ages.”

As written, the bill gives the Ohio Department of Education authority to choose the resources for age-appropriate training on sexual abuse and violence prevention.