Ohio lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow the state's education department to set health and sex education standards for K-12 schools. However, it is meeting opposition from conservative groups.
Ohio law mandates that abstinence be taught in K-12 schools as the preferred education policy. Brian Yusko with the Ohio Association of Colleges for Teacher Education says the state is an outlier when it comes to having health education standards.
“Ohio is the only state that does not have a set of health education standards," Yusko says.
Linda Harvey with Mission: America, a conservative Christian group based in Columbus, says individual schools are already teaching national sex ed programs that she says recommend immoral and unsafe sexual activities.
“This bill seems to give a wink and a nod to more of this," Harvey says.
A Senate committee is set to consider the bill for the fourth time tomorrow morning. If it passes that committee, it could come up for a vote in that chamber before the end of this year.
