Colorado lawmakers to debate bill barring abstinence-only sex education

State lawmakers in Colorado on Wednesday will debate legislation that would ban public schools in the state from teaching abstinence-only sex education.

A hearing on the bill is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, according to The Denver Post.

The Post reported that the majority of public schools in Colorado have taught “comprehensive” sex education since a different law was approved in 2013, but some charter and rural schools have not done so.

{mosads}If the new legislation is approved by lawmakers, schools would need to use the curriculum detailed in the bill or not teach anything, according to the Post.

The legislation would require that classes teach accurate information “about all preventive methods to avoid unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections,” according to the text of the bill. 

The bill has already sparked opposition from conservative groups. 

The state’s GOP chairman, Jeff Hays, told the Post that the proposal is a “radical sex ed” bill that would “require sex-ed curriculum in Colorado public schools to conform to radical notions of sexuality and gender, while allowing classes to cover these topics without parents being notified.”