A joint resolution that needs to receive a lot of air time and promotion is SJR 15, which Sen. Weiler has put forward in response to research by Dr. Jen Brown, a dentist in Davis County, who reports that she has found 65 research studies in the U of U data base that shows the devastating effects of SOFT pornography (the kind you see walking through a mall, halloween store, or regular programming/advertising on television, and billboards) on children and adolescents. She gave testimony this week concerning the damage to the prefrontal cortex, which is the reasoning, higher functioning part of the brain that distinguishes us from the animal kingdom, and the reinforcement of the basal ganglia, that increases addiction, violence, aggression, self-centeredness, when exposed to this soft pornography. She reports that it actually affects the development of the brain as it is flooded with neurons, testosterone, cortisol and norepinephrine (responsible for flashbulb memories). Because the basal ganglia is being stimulated regularly it diminishes the development of the prefrontal cortex. This is HUGE, parents/teachers/business people, etc.

I agree with Christie that Osmond’s bill, SB-71 ‘Results Based Financing for Early Childhood Education’, is a big mistake and takes on one of the major problems with Common Core–using our children as test subjects to prove or disprove a program’s effectiveness, and then having the taxpayers pay exorbitantly for it, and the great potential that it will be ineffective. It also removes children from their homes too early, which can cause emotional challenges. And putting it under the Department of Workforce Services, who are to staff the board created by this bill, removing it from the auspices of parents, teachers, voters and school boards, is astounding. It also creates a new student identifier to track our children. This is a bad bill.  
I am concerned about SB-39 ‘Parental Responsibility for Sex Education Training’ on one point: the word ‘training’ changes the bill from the intent indicated by the title–to strength a parent’s responsibility and constitutional authority to train their own children, to training the parents to train their children. As stated in the bill, “This bill requires the State Board of Education to offer TRAINING TO PARENTS…” and “The board shall develop a parents health education training program for parents of minors…to INSTRUCT PARENTS HOW TO EDUCATE THEIR CHILDREN on health education…” To codify that the state will ‘train’ parents in how to train their children seems to undermine the legal authority of the parent and changes the purported intent of the bill from providing materials consistent with what the school is teaching, to having the state in charge of the education with the parent as the teacher/trainer. I cannot support it.