Former teacher and current state Rep. Joseph Pavlov went all the way to the Michigan State Board of Education to fight for parental rights and local control in sex education. Pavlov testified in front of the board at its most recent meeting, urging the members to back down from their plan to ignore health education regulations.

The Board is considering a change to state health standards that would push schools to cover controversial topics like same-sex relationships and gender identity options. According to Pavlov, calling those topics health education and acting like they are part of increased standards is an attempt to pressure schools to include the topics in their curriculum. Current state law gives parents and schools a great deal of choice and flexibility in what is taught in sex ed, specifically to respect local preferences and parent control on topics like these. Pavlov called it “an overreach that violates both state law and the trust of Michigan parents.”

“This proposal tries to pressure schools into taking important decisions away from parents, and that’s simply unacceptable,” Pavlov said. “Parents have a right to decide what their children learn about sensitive topics like sexuality and family life. Ignoring their right to decide for their children isn’t just wrong, it’s also illegal.”

Pavlov pointed to state law (MCL 380.1507), which explicitly places responsibility for sex education in the hands of local school boards and parent-appointed advisory committees. The law also guarantees parents the right to opt their children out of lessons involving sexual content, a right Pavlov said isn’t being respected under the proposal.

“This board of bureaucrats wants to push their political views as healthcare, but they can’t take away parents’ rights,” Pavlov said. “We have clear protections against our kids’ education being at the mercy of political fights and radical activism. Those laws give parents peace of mind, and they’re important. I will continue to make sure our state board of education respects them.”

Pavlov told the Board that if Michigan’s health education standards truly need to be updated, they should bring it to the Legislature, where decision making is transparent, where ideas are vetted, and where the people of this state have local representatives fighting for them whom they can hold accountable.

The Board rejected a resolution to withdraw its proposal on Tuesday night after Pavlov spoke. The proposal is still active and could be taken up in a future meeting.