AUSTIN -- A Texas Senate education panel heard details Tuesday on a proposal to prohibit organizations linked to abortion providers from teaching sex education in public schools statewide -- even though critics say there are very few cases where that's actually occurring.
The potentially contentious measure from Tea Party-backed Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, was hailed by abortion opponents as a way to "exclude Planned Parenthood" from Texas classrooms. It also would require school districts to seek parental consent before allowing any outside experts to teach sex education.Sarah Wheat, director of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said "health educators" affiliated with the group have provided sex education instruction "in a handful of school districts" in Texas through the years, including in Austin.She said state law requires all sex education programs to promote abstinence, and said Planned Parenthood professionals have to be approved by school district health oversight committees.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
