The Michigan chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed concerns that the broad and sweeping changes to Michigan’s Sexual Education Law in proposed House Bill 6068 would infringe on the rights of parents as it relates to the content of sexual education taught in Michigan public schools.
Michigan’s sex education scheme sets the minimum standards and content of any public school’s curriculum and requires that the specific content and scope of sexual education be made at the local school board level with direct input from parents, health professionals, and school staff.
Currently, the law requires schools who offer sex education as an elective to provide information about the transmission of sexually-transmitted infections and information about the biology of reproductive organs and health and maintains a focus on the benefits of abstinence and prohibits public schools from distributing prophylactic contraceptives to students.
However, the changes that are proposed by HB 6086 remove both the requirement to discuss the benefits of abstinence as well as the prohibition of distribution of contraceptives and instead provides a focus on sexually-intimate partner relationships in a manner that does not comport with many Muslims religious and moral beliefs. The proposed amendments take away the ability of parents, through their local school board, to determine when, how, and where to discuss sexual intimacy and relationships with their children.
In a statement, CAIR-MI Executive DirectorDawud Walid said:
“By taking away the rights of the parents and the local school boards to decide the content of sexual education courses that comport with local values and morals, the State of Michigan is attempting to replace those values with their own by compulsion.
“Decisions about how, where and when to discuss intimate partner relationships should be left to the parents and should be decided by local school boards with the input of local parents, students and community members to ensure that those sensitive topics are addressed in a manner that comports with local community social and moral standards.
“CAIR-MI is concerned that these broad, sweeping changes to the current sexual education requirements in K-12 schools will push parents to reconsider allowing their children to participate in classes that were would otherwise provide valuable educational opportunities for students about their own bodies without infringing on their social and religious values, which was the intent and effect of the enactment of the current law.”
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CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director, Dawud Walid (248) 842-1418, dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney, Amy V. Doukoure, (586) 943-8823, adoukoure@cair.com