A bill that puts local school boards in charge sex education will become a law, after Governor Bill Walker decided against vetoing it Thursday. House Bill 156 requires that school boards approve any sex education curriculum, as well as any teachers who aren’t employed under a contract with schools.
The bill also allows parents to opt their children out of any lesson. It also gives parents the right to review sex education curriculum and teachers’ credentials. And it bars the state from requiring school districts to administer standardized tests for two years, unless the federal government threatens to withhold money.
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
