Making Sex Ed Opt-In, For Good This Time

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If a new bill in the Texas Senate becomes law, Texas’ trial run limiting the number of students who receive sex education will become a permanent project.

State Sen. Donna Campbell’s Senate Bill 371 would once again require Texas parents to provide written consent before their children in public schools receive sexual education. That would make Texas one of only a handful of “opt-in” states.

A 2021 law, House Bill 1525, made Texas an opt-in state, but that provision expired in August 2024. Campbell’s bill, which has been referred to the Education K-16 Senate committee, would make the opt-in policy permanent.

Advocacy groups warn that opt-in policies result in lower access to sexual education. One study from the Journal of Nursing Scholarship showed that only 30-60% of students got parental consent when opt-in policies were in place in comparison to 93-100% when opt-out policies were in place.

According to a 2023 report by Healthy Futures of Texas, opt-in policies create barriers for families with absentee, lower-income, or non-English speaking parents. Additionally, many times parents don’t return permission slips because they don’t see it or don’t have time.

The same report shows 70% of school district staff prefer an opt-out policy because it creates less strain on personnel to collect permission slips and accommodate students whose parents do not consent.

SB 371 comes following some major changes to sexual education in Texas. In 2020, the state updated the minimum guidelines for sexual education to be incorporated into health classes. These guidelines, called Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), now include basic anatomy and puberty, abstinence, contraception, healthy relationships and signs of abuse. Notably, they did not include consent or acknowledge LGBTQ+ issues.

While the Texas Legislature creates statewide standards for education, the state of sexual education in Texas often comes down to individual schools and school districts.

For example, the state requires health education at the middle school level, but not the high school level. However, some school districts, like Austin ISD, require a health class to graduate high school.

School health advisory councils, which schools are required to have by state law, also make recommendations about sexual education at the campus level. Composed of parents and local community members, school health advisory councils ensure “local community values” are reflected in the school’s health education.