(CP) – The Colorado House has passed a controversial bill requiring schools that offer sex education classes to either teach gay and lesbian issues and not focus on abstinence-only programs — or to provide no instruction on sexuality at all. The “Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education bill,” or HB1032, passed on a 39-23 vote on Tuesday, with one Democrat, Rep. Don Valdez of La Jara, voting “no” with the Republicans. The legislation, which is backed by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union, would not require schools to teach sex education — but those that do could no
longer offer “abstinence-only” curriculum. Instead, classes must focus on a wide range of topics, including consent, birth control and pregnancy, prevention of sexually transmitted disease, “healthy relationships” and sexual orientation. Additionally, a school’s sex-ed curriculum may not include “religious ideology or sectarian tenets or doctrines,” nor could it use “shame-based or stigmatizing language or instructional tools … or excluding the relational or sexual experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals.” READ MORE
