Indiana Republican moves to remove requirement to teach consent in sex ed bill

During a committee hearing on a bill regulating sexuality instruction in Indiana’s K-12 schools, state Sen. Gary Byrne (R-Byrneville) made a last-minute change that eliminates a requirement for schools to teach about consent in sexual activity.

Byrne made the change during a special committee meeting on Monday on Senate Bill 442, where Democrats in the room proceeded to grill him on the abrupt unnecessary change. Byrne, who does not have a background in human sexuality, admitted that he did not discuss the change with members of the community or experts, nor did anyone come to him to ask him to do it.

“Nobody came to me. This is a decision that I made to not have it in there,” Byrne responded when asked who asked for the change.

IndyStar reported on Monday that Byrne’s original bill did not have the requirement to teach consent; Rep. Tonya Pfaff (D-Terre Haute) convinced the House to add the language into the bill via amendment on a voice vote.




https://heartlandsignal.com/2025/04/22/indiana-republican-moves-to-remove-requirement-to-teach-consent-in-sex-ed/