Controversial Florida legislation that would bar teachers from teaching about menstruation and other sex education topics in elementary schools passed out of the House Subcommittee on Education Quality last week.
the invoice Sponsored by Florida Republican State Representative Stan McClain, it will mandate that only children in grades six through twelve can learn about topics of human sexuality, such as reproduction and sexually transmitted diseases.
during Last week’s subcommittee hearingDemocratic state Rep. Ashley Gantt grilled McClain, asking if it would restrict kids who get their periods younger from getting their questions answered at school.
“So if little girls experience their period in fifth grade or fourth grade, will that prevent talking about them because they’re in the lower grade than sixth grade?” asked Gant.
McClain replied, “It will.”
According to the Cleveland ClinicGirls in the United States usually get their first period between the ages of 11 and 14, but they can get them as early as age 9 and up to 15.
Gantt also asked if teachers would face disciplinary action for bringing up the topic of menstruation with students who are getting their first period but are not yet in sixth grade.
“We haven’t considered that, but that wouldn’t be the intent of the bill,” McClain said, adding that he would be “subject to” changing some of the provisions of the law to allow for those talks.
HB 1069, like several more Proposed state legislation also mandates how teachers define gender and reproduction for their students, adding that reproductive roles are “immutable.”
The proposed version of the bill for sex education “teaches that sex is determined by biology and reproductive function at birth; that biological males fertilize biological females by fertilizing a female ovum with male sperm; that the female then bears the offspring; and that these reproductive roles are binary and stable.” and immutable.”
The legislation also states that teachers must instruct older students about sexual abstinence, with an emphasis on heterosexual relations.
The bill reads, “Teach abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage as expected standard for all school-age students while teaching the benefits of heterosexual monogamy.”
This isn’t the first time Florida schools have been in hot water over the topic of menstruation. Earlier this year, the state responded to heavy criticism after requiring female athletes to include their menstrual history on the medical forms they must submit in order to participate in school sports. fl Removal That requirement is in February, though it still requires athletes to write down their “assigned sex at birth” rather than just their gender.
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