At least that seemed to be the majority opinion of the Oklahoma State House of Representatives.

The bill would have required parents to "opt-in" to public sex education courses for their children, rather than having to "opt-out" as they do, now. House Bill HB 2628, authored by George Faught (R-Muskogee)who explained, according to The Oklahoman:

The measure's author, Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, said he wanted the "opt in" provision so a parent would know in advance that his child would be enrolled in a sex education class and would not receive instruction the parent did not approve of.

"They have the ultimate authority as to whether or not the child will attend that," Faught said. Faught, who said his teenage children are home-schooled, said parents should be the primary source of sex education for their children and schools should play a secondary role.

Opponents of the bill cited the state's high rate of teen pregnancy, as to why the current "opt-out" process is better. Groups supporting Planned Parenthood, such as Get R.E.A.L. Oklahoma called Faught an "extremist" the proposed legislation, "an example of out of control harassment by anti-choice legislators and lobby groups." OKPNS has previously reported that the Planned Parenthood site TeenWire.com, also does not encourage parental involvement in the sex education of children.

Labels: Education, Planned Parenthood

Posted at 3/17/2008 11:23:00 AM