Mayor Warren opposes mandatory sex education for kindergarteners

Proposed legislation that could affect the entire state of New York would make sex education mandatory for students beginning in kindergarten. Rochester’s Mayor Lovely Warren sent a letter to Albany to voice her opposition, which echoes what many parents also believe. Not only does Warren think the “government should not be pushing for that at that early age,” but she also expressed concern that forcing parents as well as educators to force this on children so young is “not what we want to do as a community.”

There’s another pending bill that would allow children under the age of 14 to get an HPV vaccine without a parent’s consent. Warren adamantly opposes this bill too, saying that the government should not “take away a parent’s ability to say what their child should be exposed to.”

Mayor Warren collaborated with parents and faith leaders such as Kevin Petske, president of Northstar Christian Academy, to write her letter. Historically, the black community has depended heavily on its religious leaders and faith-based institutions to partner with parents and teach children moral values. But if the proposed legislation passes, Warren, Petske, and others warn that the government will be able to force its curriculum of sex education on kindergarten children and take away parents’ rights to teach this subject to their own children.