The statement below can be attributed to Chelsea Diaz, Advocacy Associate, ACLU of Illinois:
“Passage of the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act by the Illinois House moves students across Illinois one step closer to getting the information and education they need to support informed decision making and lead healthy lives. This measure ensures comprehensive personal health and safety and sexual health education is inclusive. Students who have long been stigmatized and or made invisible in these courses, such as LGBTQ students and pregnant and parenting students, will now feel affirmed and seen in their classrooms.
At the same time, the bill specifically retains the existing opt out for parents so a student’s participation is left up to the parent, and not to a teacher or school administrator.
This is a great step forward for Illinois students and we express our gratitude to State Representative Camille Lily who has been a leader on this issue for many years. Students’ lives will be better because of her work. We also thank the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and all the advocates of the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Coalition who worked this session to improve comprehensive sexual health education, efforts that ultimately were combined into this measure.
We look forward to Governor Pritzker signing the bill when it gets to his desk.”
