Check this out, from Alaska:
Alaska implemented a broad new education law that has Planned Parenthood hopping mad while making Common Core foes happy.
HB 156 was passed back in May, but sat on the desk of independent Gov. Bill Walker while he considered whether to veto it. Finally, on Thursday, Walker allowed the bill to become law without signing it, saying the bill was a “very close call” for him.
The law influences several different aspects of schooling in Alaska, but of particular note is its provisions on sex education and standardized tests. The law states that sex education may only be taught by a certified teacher, or by an outside instructor approved by the local school board. One major goal of the provision is to keep teachers from bringing in representatives of Planned Parenthood to provide sex education lessons.
The provision was backed by Alaska Sen. Mike Dunleavy, who previously pushed a bill that would have explicitly banned any abortion provider from providing sex education in public schools. That bill failed to pass, but Dunleavy managed to insert the provision into HB 156 as an amendment, where it was then modified into the form that became law this week.
A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Northwest, Jessica Cler, said by phone Wednesday from Anchorage that the amendment to Keller’s bill still restricts access to sex education in Alaska. She worried that nurses and doctors volunteering to speak in classrooms would not want to meet the requirements laid out in the bill. She worried that a state with already high rates of sexually transmitted diseases, reported rapes and teenage pregnancy would receive even less education. She also worried it would be harder for teachers to adjust their lesson plans with new or updated materials.
“The reality is in a lot of these places the barriers would become prohibitive,” she said.
