Pennsylvania Tried to Stop Parents of Elementary School Students from Reviewing ‘Sex-Ed’ Materials – Here’s What Happened Next

Some parents with children in government schools can’t or won’t homeschool or send them to private schools. Some believe that since part of their income supports these schools, they should know what’s being taught and be able to opt out of certain instructions.

Parents with children in the State College Area School District in Pennsylvania are among those who want options.

Liberty Counsel reported that these parents sought to review the district’s so-called sex education curriculum. School officials allowed them to review only some of materials. The parents sent the district a letter demanding to see all materials and won the right to review what the government planned to teach their children.

From Liberal Counsel, which represents the parents (emphasis added):

Pennsylvania law recognizes that parents have the “right to have their children excused from specific instruction that conflicts with their religious beliefs, upon receipt by the school entity of a written request from the parent or guardians.” Parents cannot meaningfully exercise this right without notice and opportunity to inspect all curriculum materials, not just summaries or censored slide presentations. This is particularly important where the material discusses matters of sexuality.
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Parents had repeatedly sought to view the material, in the face of administrative stonewalling. One parent wrote: “We asked to see the curriculum and were denied. We went to the parent meeting and were denied, we received the email from [one administrator] which was a sham. We continued to ask for the curriculum and were ignored, we reached out to [Liberty Counsel] and you intervened.” On “June 10th (40 days after our initial request and long after the students in the district were exposed to the material), we saw what has been represented as the curriculum.”