ILLINOIS (WAND) - Bills changing sex education standards in Illinois K-12 schools have been signed by the governor. 

Senate Bill 818, which takes effect immediately, adds new personal health and safety education standards in kindergarten through 5th grade. It also makes comprehensive health education more inclusive in grades 6 to 12. School districts do not have to adopt the voluntary standards unless they teach comprehensive sexual health education, and parents have the option to opt out. 

“Modernizing our sex education standards will help keep our children safe and ensure important lessons like consent and internet safety are taught in classrooms,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “By working together, we’ll continue to strengthen our education system and deliver the bright future our kids deserve.”

State leaders said course material and instruction with this bill will help students learn about consent and develop self-advocacy skills for effective communication with parents or guardians, health and social service professionals, other trusted adults and peers about health and relationships. 

The Illinois State Board of Education plans to develop and adopt these voluntary learning standards in consultation with stakeholders, including parents, sexual health and violence prevention experts, health care providers and education advocates. These free resources will be made available online no later than Aug. 1, 2022. 

In addition, House Bill 24, which is also effective immediately, requires classes that teach sex education, including an age-appropriate discussion about sexting. The discussion will include: 

  • information regarding the possible consequences of sharing or forwarding sexually explicit or suggestive content
  • the identification of situations in which bullying or harassment may result as a consequence of sexting
  • the potential for long-term legal, social, academic, and other consequences from possessing sexual content,
  • the importance of internet safety,
  • the identification of people who could be of assistance on this issue to students
  • and the development of strategies to resist peer pressure