SACRAMENTO : AIDS Education Bill Stirs Heated Debate

State senators expressed loud opinions and called one another rude during debate Wednesday on an AIDS education bill that the author says could stop schools from promoting homosexuality. The Assembly-passed bill by Assemblyman Steve Baldwin (R-El Cajon) would have required prior parental consent before schoolchildren could attend AIDS or sex education classes. But when it became apparent he would not get the votes in the Senate Education Committee, Baldwin agreed to retain the current requirement that parents be notified that they can keep their children out of such classes. A vote on the amended bill was postponed for a week.