Action Alert: Stop SB1456
Defend Accurate, Age-appropriate Sex Education
Update, March 4th: yesterday, SB1456 passed in the Senate with a 16-14 vote. It is now being transmitted to the House. Below is a record of our action alert from Wednesday March 3rd. Stay tuned for further updates.
What You Can Do Today
Contact three key senators to stop SB1456:
Michelle Ugenti-Rita: mugenti-rita@azleg.gov | (602) 926-4480
Thomas Shope: tshope@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3012
Tyler Pace: tpace@azleg.gov | (602) 926-5760
We’ve put together a sample message you can use to guide your comments:
SB1456 creates unnecessary obstacles to prevent kids from participating in age appropriate and medically accurate sex education. Parents can already opt their children out of sex education, there’s not need to change the law to make this process more complicated.
In particular, the double opt-in process, where parents first need to opt their student into sex education, and then, second, would need to opt their student into HIV prevention education, is, in the midst of a pandemic, a cruel and unnecessary barrier to life-saving information.
Every student in Arizona should learn how to stay safe, healthy and HIV negative. Please vote against this bill.
Why SB1456 is Wrong for Arizona
SB1456 prevents young people from learning about their bodies in an age-appropriate way from professionals, not the internet. Because SB1456 bans sex education before the 5th grade, many students experiencing a spectrum of life experiences are left out of the process.
Additionally, SB1456 creates unnecessary hurdles to getting students HIV prevention education. This bill would create a double opt-in process: first, parents need to opt their student into sex education; then, second, would need to opt their student into HIV prevention education.
This bill endangers the health and lives of LGBTQ students, and would harm all studentsby depriving them of an equal opportunity to learn age appropriate, medically accurate, sex education. Every student in Arizona should learn how to stay safe, healthy and HIV negative.