There was an interesting discussion on pending health curriculum legislation in Newark this week at the Worcester County Board of Education meeting with comments made from parents, school administrators and elected school board members. It’s safe to say there are a broad range of opinions on what students should be taught in schools when it comes to sex education specifically. It seems, however, there is also much misinformation circulating about the subject.
House Bill 119, under consideration in Annapolis, would mandate all school system to adopt a comprehensive health education framework for all public schools in Maryland. The rub is this curriculum has essentially already been in place in most counties, but the legislation just makes it law officially.
A bit of balance and perspective is needed on this discussion. Most of the specific concerns about the health education topics being addressed by bill opponents and supporters are already part of health education in local schools. As Annette Wallace, chief safety and academic officer for grades nine through 12, said this week, the bill “would codify what is already educational law.” In her presentation before the school board Tuesday, Tamara Mills, the school system’s coordinator of instruction, aimed to address a whirlwind of misinformation about the bill and what exactly is already being taught in school classrooms. Sweeping changes to health education were made back in 2019 by the state. In 2021, the state revised...
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