The Cedarburg School District could be overstepping its authority with their new “opt-in” sex education policy and making themselves vulnerable to lawsuits, according to a letter sent to the school district by the Department of Public Instruction.

The district implemented a new sex education policy this year where parents must sign a permission slip sent home in order to “opt in” for their children to receive instruction on sensitive sex education topics, including contraception, intercourse, homosexuality, abortion and masturbation.

Cedarburg schools may be overstepping their statutory authority by implementing this “opt in” policy, according to the DPI.

The DPI added that the district might be vulnerable to legal challenges as a result of the new practice.

“A simple solution would be to provide a form that allows parents to opt their students out of all or some of the instruction,” the DPI letter, sent Oct. 6, claimed.

Critics argue Cedarburg’s new policy violates state law requiring comprehensive sex education in schools that teach a sexual health curriculum.

The Healthy Youth Act was signed into law in February and mandates that any schools that choose to teach sex education must provide comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate information to their students.

According to the Healthy Youth Act, a parent has the ability to opt their child out of all or any part of a school’s sex education curriculum – the opposite of the new Cedarburg policy.

Allowing parents to “opt out”, rather than requiring specific permission to receive sex education instruction, is the policy at schools such as those in the Madison Metropolitan School District and is the route the DPI is recommending Cedarburg follow in order to avoid legal trouble.

If no permission slip is returned, Cedarburg schools assume that the parent has chosen not to involve their child in the sensitive portions of the comprehensive sex education program, according to a letter sent to parents by the district in September.

However, opponents such as Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, a co-author of the Healthy Youth Act, claim the Cedarburg program violates the nature of the law.

“Since Cedarburg has chosen to teach human growth and development, they are not allowed to require [the parents of students] to opt in to the curriculum,” said Grigsby spokesperson Kevin Benish.