- Washington state law mandates the teaching of comprehensive sexuality education, and it must be medically accurate.
- All sex ed curricula must stress abstinence, though abstinence may not be taught to the exclusion of instruction on other forms of contraception and disease prevention.
- All sex ed curricula must be inclusive of all students regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
- All sex ed curricula must include instruction on affirmative consent.
- HB 1061 passed in 2023. It requires school districts to create procedures to notify parents before sex education is taught, and allows for parents to opt out of sex education. It also requires the creation of policies by which a parent can object to instructional materials and other materials used in the classroom based on beliefs regarding morality, sex, and religion or the belief that such materials are harmful.
- SB 5462 was passed in 2023. It requires the state school directors’ association to create model policy and procedure mandating that public schools adopt inclusive curricula and select inclusive, age-appropriate instructional materials that include the histories, contributions, and perspectives of historically marginalized and underrepresented groups, including LGBTQ people.
- Parents or guardians may remove their children from HIV/AIDS prevention education if they have attended an information session about the curriculum and its presentation. Parents may also remove their children from the class with written notification. This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy.
- Any sex education program implemented in schools must be consistent with the Guidelines for Sexual Health and Disease Prevention. Additional guidance for best practices in sexual health education is also provided in the Health and Physical Education K-12 Learning Standards and the KNOW HIV/STD Prevention Curriculum. Furthermore, Washington provides health education standards as guidance for curriculum development.
Bills to Watch
- SB 5653 was introduced in 2023. It would establish the right of parents to know about the health and wellbeing and the education of their kid, and would create policies and procedures to prevent infringement on this. It would also prevent the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3.
- SB 5024 was introduced in 2023. It would require procedures for posting curriculum materials online, add parental rights, and provide for increased public participation.
- SB 5009 was introduced in 2023. It would make sex education for all K-12 public school students opt-in.
For more detailed information on how various districts in the state have been implementing these standards — and for recent legislation — you can read SIECUS’s Washington profile.