Dupage Policy Journal

Under legislation aimed at modernizing sex education standards in Illinois, students in grades K-12 are now learning about consent, as well as new personal health and safety lessons.

The legislation, designated Senate Bill 818, was signed into law in August 2021 and requires K-12 schools that teach sex education to meet certain curriculum standards; a press release from Gov. JB Pritzker's office said. 

"Modernizing our sex education standards will help keep our children safe and ensure important lessons, like consent and internet safety, are taught in classrooms," the governor said in the release.

But Republican lawmakers, including state Rep. Amy Grant (R-Wheaton) oppose the new standards.

"I have seen the materials that are suggested for this curriculum, and I believe they are inappropriate for students as young as kindergarten," she wrote in an August 2021 Facebook post. "I’m deeply disappointed that this was signed into law."

The new sex education curriculum is based on the National Sex Education Standards, a Break Through report said. The standards include teaching students in grades K-2 about defining gender, gender identity and stereotypes. Children in grades 3-5 will be taught about masturbation; hormonal development and hormone blockers; the differences between cisgender, transgender and gender nonbinary; and the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. Students in grades 6-8 will learn about oral, anal and vaginal sex; as well as nonprescription contraception. High school students will learn about "reproductive justice," as well as how to differentiate between sex assigned at birth, gender identity and gender expression.

The most recent Illinois Assessment of Readiness scores showed less than 20% of third-graders are able to read or perform math at grade-level proficiency, a Chicago Sun-Times report said.

A recent Wirepoints report noted that only 38% of Illinois students can read at grade level.