Watch a previous NBC4 report on HB 8 in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio lawmakers are advancing a bill allowing parents to opt their child out of “sexuality content” in school, legislation opponents said is anti-LGBTQ+ and will force educators to out students.

House Bill 8 — the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” — passed with a vote of 10 to 5 out of the Primary and Secondary Education Committee on Tuesday, and now heads to a floor vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The bill would require teachers to notify parents before teaching “sexuality content” and of any change in a student’s mental, emotional or physical health.

“This is dangerous for education here in Ohio and this is dangerous for educators to be held to this kind of standard,” said Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) at a previous hearing for the bill. “It is dangerous to our students who are just trying to go to school, be educated and live their lives.”

Rep. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and Rep. Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) reintroduced the bill earlier this year after the legislation failed to pass Ohio’s General Assembly last year. “The focus is to ensure that parents are empowered to be involved in their child’s education both inside and outside the classroom,” Swearingen said in a statement.

The committee passed an amendment on June 8 to change the term “sexually explicit content” in the bill to “sexuality content,” defined as “any oral or written instruction, presentation, image or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology.” In addition, a definition has been added for what the lawmakers call “biological sex,” meaning “the sex listed on a person’s official birth record.”

Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur (R-Rock Creek) said that the bill would provide parents the opportunity to request excusal for their child from lessons deemed “sexuality content.” Parents whose concerns aren’t resolved after 30 days would be granted a hearing with the district’s board of education.

Rep. Joe Miller (D-Amherst) questioned Rep. Adam Bird (R-Cincinnati), chair of the committee, and Arthur during the June 8 hearing on why the language needed to be changed.

“Is this amendment intended to be a anti-gay, anti-trans bill that’s targeting these most vulnerable children?” asked Miller. “Because, it’s lining up to look at lot like the anti-gay bills that are going around the country right now.”

Bird argued the bill’s intention is not to prohibit instruction, but rather to provide parents the opportunity to review the material to determine whether their child should be provided alternative coursework. He said the bill’s sponsors have heard from Ohio parents who are concerned their child’s school is teaching “sexuality content.”

“There are students in Ohio that being taught those kinds of things without parent knowledge,” said Bird.

In addition to HB 8, Ohio lawmakers are heading for a floor vote in the House for the “Save Women’s Sports Act” which would ban trans athletes from participating in school sports aligned with their gender identity. The “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act” is also moving forward and would prohibit various medical treatments for trans minors.

Further, House Bill 183 has been introduced to ban trans students from using a restroom aligned with their gender identity at schools.