ABSTRACT
Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have specific provisions that either permit parents to opt their children out of sex education classes for religious, moral, or family-oriented reasons, as well as general written objections, and four states have provisions that require parental consent before children can participate, namely, opt-in requirements. In the early 2000s, 23 states required schools to educate students on HIV/AIDS and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, with the number rising to 35 by 2008. Because of these opt-out provisions, the majority of cases challenging sex education programs have been unsuccessful. D. Surgan explained, “The trend in the law is that although parents do have a fundamental right to direct their children’s , they do not have a fundamental right to direct the curriculum that will be taught to all children in the public schools”.
