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Dear Powerful Parents and community members,
We at Power2Parent know you are busy working and being great parents. This is why we monitor legislation and alert you when we see bills that would diminish our rights in Nevada. We not only keep you updated, but we provide all the information necessary so that you can efficiently and effectively make your voice heard. AB357 is a bill that needs our attention and action.
AB357 requires implementation of expansive sexuality education, grants the state power to decide on sex ed standards for the entire state depriving parents and communities of local control, and changes the terms of parental permissions for their children to participate.
- Current law requires parents to sign a permission slip for their child to participate in sex-ed. In CCSD, 96% of permission slips are being returned. AB357 changes this opt-in process by requiring the parent to go online to opt-out. If a busy parent fails to do so, the student will be required to participate. This bill makes it more difficult for parents to provide meaningful, informed consent.
- If AB357 passes, the state (not local school boards) will establish academic standards which will require specific topics to be addressed and also determine the age at which a child should be exposed to that information. If the state sets the sex-ed standards, communities and families will be deprived of local control when it comes to sex education curriculum at their schools. Parental control will be significantly diminished in this important aspect of their child's education.
- Current law requires a Health teacher or employee of CCSD to teach sex education. This law allows outside entities, like Planned Parenthood, who are not accountable to parents to teach sex education at school.
In 2017, Governor Sandoval vetoed AB348, a bill identical to this one, that parents lobbied hard to defeat. His reasons were just as instructive then as they are today. He states,
"Finally, without a doubt, the policy changes..involving sex education are ones that should be determined by parents, educators, and education policy makers at local school boards. These environments invite and include optimum discussion, debate and decisions for the children who attend the schools in those neighborhoods...But a uniform one-size-fits-all approach to sex education would be ill-advised and these policy changes if made, should be made at the local level."
Please read Governor Sandoval's 2017 veto here.
The hearing for this bill is scheduled for tomorrow April 11, 2023, at the Call of the Chair. This means that the Chair of the Education Committee, Assemblywoman Bilbray-Axelrod (D) will schedule at her pleasure which makes it impossible for busy parents to arrange their schedules accordingly. We will be monitoring this hearing closely and will post updates on our social media channels, so stay tuned!
How can you act? 1) Submit your opposition here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/9889/Opinions (scroll down to "Public Opinions Submit Opinion or View Opinion Stats For AB357)
2) Contact the bill sponsors and the Assembly Committee on Education: Shannon.BilbrayAxelrod@asm.state.nv.us; Howard.Watts@asm.state.nv.us; Selena.Torres@asm.state.nv.us; Sarah.Peters@asm.state.nv.us; Dallas.Harris@sen.state.nv.us; Angie.Taylor@asm.state.nv.us; Natha.Anderson@asm.state.nv.us; Reuben.DSilva@asm.state.nv.us; Richard.McArthur@asm.state.nv.us; Gregory.Koenig@asm.state.nv.us; Melissa.Hardy@asm.state.nv.us; Alexis.Hansen@asm.state.nv.us; Alexis.Hansen@asm.state.nv.us; Clara.Thomas@asm.state.nv.us, Erica.Mosca@asm.state.nv.us; Selena.La.Rue.Hatch@asm.state.nv.us
Tell them that parents want to maintain local control over sex ed curriculum, especially when it comes to giving express consent (opt-in) and subject matter related to sex education. Do not support AB357.
3) Send your testimony to AsmED@asm.state.nv.us before Tuesday, April 11th.
Parents in Nevada know what is best for their children especially when it comes to teaching them values related to sexual activity and deciding when their children are ready for that information. There is no greater expert on children than their parents.
Assembly Bill 357 Sponsors: | 
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