Will County Gazette

Twenty-nine school districts in Will County are divided on conforming to Illinois’ new law that aligns sex education policies for grades K-12 with national standards.

In Will County as of June 18, 17 of its school districts said they would opt out of the provisions for younger children, while one is adopting the new sex-ed policy and 11 have yet to report a decision. The new law, which the state Legislature passed in the form of Senate Bill 818, allows districts to either opt out or adopt the sex education policies for younger children contained in the new law.

During discussions about the new policy in the Legislature, Republicans criticized the plan as being too explicit for young children. Among other provisions, sixth-graders would be expected to define phrases such as oral sex and anal sex, while third-graders would be taught to understand the act of masturbation.

Sex education advocates, however, say the new law won’t result in drastic changes for school districts since it backs up what many schools are already doing in the area of sex education.

The Catholic Conference of Illinois opposed SB 818 when it was being considered by the Legislature, arguing that although the plan offers parents an opt-out provision, many parents won’t be aware of their options. The provisions inappropriately call on fifth-graders to understand sexual orientation issues and for eighth-graders to describe how to put on a condom correctly, according to the Catholic Conference.

GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Darren Bailey, a state senator, has also come out strongly against the sex-education revisions. 

“Students in the second grade may soon be required to identify consent, gender identity and reproduction, while fourth- and fifth-graders would have to define different types of sex,” Bailey said in a prepared statement. “The bill is obscene and fails to align with community standards.” 

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Local School District Decisions on New Sex-ed Policy

School District	Positions on Sex-ed Standards
Beecher Community Unit School District 200U	Waiting or no response
Chaney-Monge School District 88	Waiting or no response
Channahon School District 17	Opting out
Crete Monee Community Unit School District 201U	Adopting
Elwood Community Consolidated School District 203	Opting out
Fairmont School District 89	Waiting or no response
Frankfort Community Consolidated School District 157C	Opting out
Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C	Opting out
Joliet School District 86	Waiting or no response
Joliet Township High School District 204	Opting out
Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70C	Opting out
Lincoln Way Consolidated High School District 210	Opting out
Lockport School District 91	Waiting or no response
Lockport Township High School District 205	Waiting or no response
Manhattan School District 114	Opting out
Mokena School District 159	Opting out
New Lenox School District 122	Opting out
Peotone Community Unit School District 207U	Opting out
Plainfield School District 202	Opting out
Reed Custer Community Unit School District 255U	Opting out
Richland School District 88A	Opting out
Rockdale School District 84	Opting out
Summit Hill School District 161	Waiting or no response
Taft School District 90	Waiting or no response
Troy Community Consolidated School District 30C	Opting out
Union School District 81	Waiting or no response
Valley View Community Unit School District 365U	Waiting or no response
Will County School District 92	Waiting or no response
Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U	Opting out

Source: LGIS News Service