Connecticut may soon become the 15th state to forbid school districts from requiring students to participate or observe animal dissections.
The state House of Representatives Wednesday voted 131-8 in support of a bill that requires students be offered an alternative following their parents’ signing off on them not participating in the dissection lesson.
The Humane Society of the United States reports that 10 other states have passed similar laws, and four state education departments created policies providing the opportunity for students to opt out of these lessons.
The bill heads to the state Senate, where its fate is unclear.
Similar bills have routinely been introduced in the past, but have failed to make it through both chambers. In 2011, the House overwhelmingly approved a similar bill, but the Senate never acted.