The law, passed on Thursday, requires schools to get written parental consent before giving sex or relationship education.
The Italian Senate gave final approval to Italy’s first national policy on sexual education, introducing the requirement for parents to opt in to students’ sexual and emotional education. It also requires that the content of the lesson be made available for the parent to review before consenting or not.
The informed consent law (il consenso informato) – dubbed the Valditara bill after the education minister, Giuseppe Valditara – passed 78-38, after initial approval in the lower house of parliament in December.
The law applies to the sex ed of middle and high school students – in Italy, spanning ages 11 to 19. Younger students remain banned from receiving this type of education.
Valditara praised the legislature’s approval, saying that the change gives control of children’s education back to parents and protects kids from what he called “gender propaganda".
