Alabama's New Sex Education Law: What Parents Should Know
Alabama's SB 209 changes what public schools teach about sex education. Parents get notice and an opt-out, and students hear about the legal side of sexting.
A new Alabama law changes what public schools can teach in sex education and how parents find out about it. It took effect October 1, and parents have more power under it than they had before.
This is a subject people disagree about, and I'm not going to argue either side. Here is what the law requires, what it prohibits, and what it means for parents and students.
The basics
Senate Bill 209 amends Section 16-40A-2 of the Alabama Code. Senator Shay Shelnutt sponsored it. News reports say it passed the Senate 26 to 3 and the House 82 to 16. The Senate approved it on February 19, the House passed it with changes on April 7, and the Senate agreed. You can read the enrolled bill yourself.
The core change is a new approach. Any public school program that includes sex education or the human reproductive process must now teach what the law calls "sexual risk avoidance." That means abstinence from all sexual activity is presented as the only way to be completely sure of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and as the best health practice for unmarried students. The sponsor said it keeps abstinence-based teaching and mostly updates the terminology. Critics said it limits what students hear about contraception. Both are describing the same bill.
What the instruction has to include
Beyond that framework, the law lists topics. Students are to be taught:
- Statistics on the real-life effectiveness and limits of contraception, presented as reducing but not eliminating risk
- Accurate and current information about the laws on the financial impact of pregnancy, childbirth, and raising a child, on abortion (including the procedure's risks and Alabama's abortion law), on adoption, and on the safe haven law for surrendering a newborn
- The laws against sexual abuse, the need to report abuse to a parent, guardian, or law enforcement, and the legal options available to victims
- How to recognize unhealthy relationships and warning signs of abuse, coercion, or exploitation
- Skills to resist peer pressure and avoid cyberbullying, sexting, pornography, and online sexual predators, along with the potential legal implications of taking part in any of them
- Parenting responsibilities, including child support and the penalties for not paying it, and the educational and financial effects of teen pregnancy
- The benefits of a child being raised by both parents and of raising children within marriage, which the law ties to what it calls the "success sequence," along with medical information on fetal growth and development
Materials must be age-appropriate and medically accurate. No materials or instruction may introduce concepts related to sexual behavior to students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
What schools can't do
The law bars sex education from including:
- Information that misrepresents how well contraception works, demonstrations of contraceptive materials, or explanations of how to get contraceptives, including referrals
- Information on how to get abortion services, including referrals
- Sexually explicit images, materials, or video
Local boards of education also can't use an outside person or organization to help teach the subject if that person or group doesn't endorse sexual risk avoidance as the primary approach, or if it performs abortions, refers for them, or funds or advocates for them.
Your rights as a parent
This part is the same no matter how you feel about the rest:
- Advance notice. Schools must give you written notice at least 14 days before sex education is taught.
- Access. You can ask to see the entire curriculum, and the school must make it available before it's given to students.
- Opt out. You can opt your child out of the instruction, with no penalty to the student.
If your school sends a notice, read it. If you want to see the materials or opt out, put the request in writing and keep a copy.
Enforcement
The Alabama Attorney General can enforce the law by asking a court for an injunction requiring compliance. The law doesn't create a fine or a criminal penalty for a teacher or a district. It also doesn't say that parents can sue.
The legal side of what students will hear
The law tells schools to teach about "the potential legal implications" of cyberbullying, sexting, and online predators. That's not an abstract warning.
Sending, receiving, or keeping a sexually explicit image of a minor can fall under Alabama's child sexual abuse material laws, which are felonies, even when the people involved are teenagers. Juvenile court may handle some cases, but nothing in the law guarantees that. Cyberbullying can bring school discipline and, in some cases, criminal charges such as harassment.
If your child is facing discipline or a charge connected to something sent or posted online, don't wait. Don't let your child explain it to a school official or a police officer first. A lawyer should be involved from the start.
Call us
If you have questions about your rights as a parent, or your child has gotten into trouble over messages or images, call John Medaris Law at (205) 663-1584. We're at 230 Bearden Road in Pelham, and we help families across Shelby and Jefferson Counties. The first consultation is free.