An attempt to remove the parental choice to opt out children from public school lessons on gender identity failed at the Maryland legislature.

The Maryland Senate significantly edited a bill that passed the House in February and would have altered requirements on school health curricula.

The bill, introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Vanessa Atterbeary, a Howard County Democrat, initially proposed to require lessons on gender identity for all students so that their parents could not opt them out. However, the Senate cut this portion of the bill so that the current parental opt-out standard remained.

Caitlin Edmondson, who has two children in Carroll County public elementary schools, celebrated the edits to the bill.

“This is good news for all parents,” she told Spotlight on Maryland. “The choice and the responsibility will continue to be up to each individual family. I’m extremely grateful that this is the outcome.”

The Maryland House Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee unanimously passed an amendment to HB0161 on Wednesday that struck the bill as introduced, meaning the initial bill language was completely cut. The bill was rewritten through an amendment that focused on ensuring local districts follow the statewide education framework. The amended version then advanced in committee along party lines.

Shannon Hinkhaus, a mother of three children who went to Carroll County Public Schools, said she was glad to see the portion on parent opt-outs axed.

“I would like to thank the senators on this committee for recognizing the right of parents to determine what sensitive information is presented to their children,” she told Spotlight on Maryland.

“I would also like to urge them to allow the school systems to retain as much local control as possible so that stakeholders can be involved in all important decision-making where their children’s education is concerned.”

Atterbeary did not respond to a request for comment on the edits to her bill.

The Maryland Comprehensive Health Education Framework requires that school districts provide lessons on different gender identities starting in kindergarten and teach sixth graders to “define sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and gender expression.” The framework is published by the Maryland State Department of Education.

The Maryland Senate passed the amended version of HB061 on Thursday in a 33-12 vote.

The bill states that the state superintendent must notify local school boards if their curriculum is not in alignment with the Maryland education framework. The superintendent of that district must then meet with the state superintendent within 30 days to determine a “corrective plan.”

Parents have a right to opt out their children from the family life and human sexuality section of the health framework where the lessons on gender identity are included.

MSDE wrote a letter in opposition to the version of HB0161 that passed the Maryland House but told Spotlight on Maryland it does not have a position on the amended version that passed the Senate.

Sen. Mary Washington, a Baltimore County Democrat, emphasized during a Thursday discussion on HB0161 that the amended version of the bill simply reiterates what is already state law.

“This is not new language; this is current practice. This is already in law,” she said. “HB 161 helps ensure that all students across Maryland have access to high-quality, standards-based education regardless of what school they attend.”

Sen. Justin Ready, a Republican representing Carroll and Frederick counties, countered with skepticism over whether the bill oversteps the autonomy of local school districts.

“This is a big change in the bill and it’s of great interest, I think, to our local school boards because there’s been some disputes at times over what is compliance with different types of curriculum standards,” he said. “We need statewide standards for things but it’s a challenge sometimes to find the right balance of local control and statewide control.”

Carroll County public schools offer a localized health framework that removes lessons on gender identity.

The localized option proved to be more popular than the state framework for parents of elementary school students in Carroll County, according to data reported by Spotlight on Maryland in January.

The Carroll County Board of Education pushed in 2022 to replace the state framework with its localized framework — a move MSDE allegedly claimed was a violation of state law.

The board then offered MSDE’s framework as its default option, with its local framework without gender identity lessons as an alternative opt-out option for parents.

Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by FOX45 News and The Baltimore Sun. Have a news tip? Contact Patrick Hauf at pjhauf@sbgtv.com. Follow him on X @PatrickHauf.