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Committee refers fetal-development instruction bill to amending order after debate and public testimony
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Summary
Senate Bill 10 46, which would require age-appropriate instruction on fetal development in public and charter schools when they teach human biology (grades 5–12), was sent to the amending order after committee debate and public testimony.
Senate Bill 10 46, presented by Senator Tammy Nichols, would require that when public and charter schools teach human biology or related topics for any grades 5 through 12, instruction include age-appropriate, scientifically grounded information about human fetal development; the bill lists visual resources such as high-definition ultrasound and computer-generated animations as examples. The committee voted to send the bill to the amending order after extensive questioning and public testimony.
Nichols told the committee the bill is intended to "enhance human growth and development instruction" and to ensure students understand fetal development and "that a fetus is not just a collection of cells." She said the measure would start in the next school year, include materials for grades 5–12 when the relevant subjects are taught, and retain local-district authority to adopt or opt families out of specific content in accordance with existing law.
Committee members and public testifiers pressed several concerns: whether the proposed video materials are medically accurate and age-appropriate for younger grades, whether the measure sidesteps established processes for content standards, and whether the bill’s enforcement clause—authorizing the attorney general to seek a writ compelling compliance—was appropriate. Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates testified in opposition, saying the example video shown to the committee contains medically inaccurate claims about weeks of development and survival rates. The ACLU witness and a clergy-trained sex-education teacher also urged careful attention to scientific accuracy and developmentally appropriate materials.
Supporters and some community members testified in favor of the bill, including parents and adoption-advocacy groups, who said students lack clear information about fetal development and that visuals such as ultrasounds can change decision-making during unplanned pregnancies. A sponsor representative offered to remove or amend the language in section 3 that would authorize the attorney general to pursue a writ to compel districts; the sponsor said she would accept sending the bill to the amending order to address that provision.
The substitute/refer-to-amending-order motion carried by roll call: the transcript records five ayes and four nays. The committee directed work on the bill’s language, specifically to address accuracy, age appropriateness, and the contested enforcement provision.
