Governor Youngkin on Senate Passage of Bill 656

Governor Glenn Youngkin today released the following statement after the passage of Senate Bill 656, introduced by Senator Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, on a vote of 20-18. The bill requires the Department of Education to develop model policies for school districts to and make available to each school board model policies for ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content.

“Today, the Senate moved forward on a bill that reaffirmed parental rights. Since the very beginning, I have advocated to give parents a voice and a say on whether their children can receive alternative reading materials because Parents Matter. The passage of this bill, signals to schools that parents will not be silenced. Notifying parents is just commonsense, and I look forward to signing it when it reaches my desk,” said Governor Youngkin.

Two Democratic senators voted with Republicans in committee to advance Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s (R-Henrico) SB 656 requiring Virginia public schools to notify parents about sexually explicit instructional material, allow parental review, and provide non-explicit alternatives. The bill instructs the Department of Education to create model policies; if passed, school boards would be required to pass similar policies.

“This is the opportunity for parents to have a conversation with their child,” Dunnavant said in the Senate Committee on Education and Health on Thursday.

“These kinds of materials that are being presented in school as an opportunity to develop that relationship between the parent and the child, talk about uncomfortable and challenging things,” Dunnavant said. “We heard in testimony from the subject matter experts that there was not a consistent policy across the school boards in Virginia, and that it was extremely variable. And as a result, having clear guidelines from the Department of Education would accomplish exactly what everybody thinks already exists, but it doesn’t.”