SPRINGFIELD – 117th District State Representative Dave Severin (R-Benton) issued the following statement in response to the passage of SB 818 out of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Curriculum & Policy Committee. Severin calls the K-12 sexual education legislation inappropriate.
“I objected to several of the provisions included in SB 818, among them being the requirement that schools that do not teach a specific curriculum would be barred from teaching any sexual education at all,” Severin said. “It is highly inappropriate for the State of Illinois to take away local control from schools, to move the current minimum age for mandated sexual education from sixth grade to Kindergarten, and prohibit any instruction or materials in the classroom which might conflict with the provisions of the bill. This is what government mandated indoctrination looks like and I’m totally opposed to it. If you agree, call every Democrat in the House and tell them how you feel.”
SB 818 passed the House Elementary and Secondary Education Curriculum & Policy Committee on a partisan line vote with 13 Democrats voting yes and 7 Republicans voting no.