Parents across Michigan are weighing in on potential updates to health education standards that would affect how schools teach topics like gender, sexual orientation and emotional development.
- Over 2,000 comments have been submitted in the last day from parents expressing their opinions.
- The Michigan Department of Education confirms parents can still opt children out of specific sex education lessons.
- Local school districts like Lansing and Okemos already have established health education curricula in place.
WATCH: Michigan parents respond to proposed changes in school health education standards
In just 24 hours, more than 2,000 parents have submitted comments about possible updates to health education in Michigan schools. The proposed changes would affect how schools teach topics including gender, sexual orientation and emotional development.
"These are the types of conversations that need to be happening in the home," one parent commented.
Another parent expressed a different view: "I want to teach my kids not to hate and to be accepting of all people."
I spoke with both a parent and an advocate about what these potential changes could mean for families in our neighborhoods.
Many parents are concerned about whether they'll still have the option to opt their children out if these topics are added to health classes.
The Michigan Department of Education addressed this concern in a statement: "Michigan law requires parent notification of sex education content, no matter where it is placed in the overall health standards."
They added, "Yes, parents can opt their children out of specific sex education lessons without opting them out of all sex education lessons."
Beyond the proposed new topics, some parents are asking questions about the current curriculum. One parent asked, "How about some general sex ed before high school?"
Looking at local districts, Lansing School District's curriculum for grades 9-12 focuses on HIV, STIs and pregnancy prevention.
Okemos Public Schools has an abstinence-based, comprehensive reproductive health and human sexuality program.
State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh says that if these new standards are implemented, schools would still be required to notify parents, allow them to review materials, and permit students to opt out.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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