Pfaff celebrates reinstatement of consent education

Earlier this month, State Rep. Tonya Pfaff (D-Terre Haute) passed an amendment on Senate Bill 442 to require consent be included in curriculum on human sexuality. On Monday, April 21, Republican State Sen. Gary Byrne (R-Byrneville) removed that provision from SB 442 during a short conference committee meeting. 

A video of the exchange between Byrne and Pfaff on the matter of consent education quickly gained over a million views across social media platforms. Following widespread public concern about removing the requirement for teenagers to learn about consent, the language was added back into the bill. 

“While I still cannot understand why this was ever a debate to begin with, I am relieved that the language requiring consent education was put back into the bill,” Pfaff said. 

“Teaching about consent protects our youth – both boys and girls. There was no reason for this common-sense policy to become a partisan issue. Thankfully, logic prevailed, and all young Hoosiers will benefit.” 

Today, April 23, the final version of SB 442 with the language requiring consent education passed both the House and Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.