WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democrats in Congress are saying that a proposed new approach to K-12 sex education, which would prohibit federal funding for school programs that “normalize teen sexual activity,” is really a “sneak attack” on comprehensive sex ed.

But many Republicans and their supporters say there’s nothing sneaky about it. They are open about their determination to stress abstinence in school sex education, and would welcome the broad changes that the proposed new language would bring.

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“This language says there should be standards that help young people excel, with content that is pointed toward the optical outcome, which is not engaging in risky behaviors,” said Valerie Huber, president and CEO of the National Abstinence Education Association in Washington, D.C.

“We’re saying, let’s look at how unhealthy behavior (by teens) can have the potential to knock them off track for graduation and for success as adults. Let’s step back and see how delayed gratification can help their future.”

The Republican-controlled U.S. House recently passed the Student Success Act, a replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act, by a 218-213 vote. The legislation says that schools would not be allowed to use federal funds for any lessons that “normalize teen sexual activity as an expected behavior, implicitly or explicitly,” according to the Washington Times.

The Senate is currently debating a similar bill to replace NCLB, but it does not include similar language, according to the Times. President Obama has threatened to veto the Student Success Act if it reaches his desk, according to the Washington Post.

If it became law, the House bill would bring about great changes to current sex education instruction in public schools, according to Huber. A lot of modern sex classes are “comprehensive” in nature, which means there is a heavy promotion of contraceptive use and abortion services.

Underscoring all of the lessons is a fundamental assumption that most teens are, or soon will be, sexually active, so the focus of instruction should be on how to prevent pregnancy and the spread of disease.

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Huber and her conservative allies believe that type of approach actually pressures teens into feeling like they are out of step or abnormal if they choose to wait for sexual activity.

The language in the House bill is designed to counter that pressure by denying federal funding to sex ed courses that continue to push the idea that sexual activity is normal and expected for teens.

“This would require that sex education reflects what the data shows – that increasingly young people are waiting for sex,” Huber said. “Our approach acknowledges that all teens are not sexually active, and that the majority of those who have experienced sex have said in surveys that they wish they would have waited.”

The language in the House bill is obviously broadly worded, and it would be up to states and local school districts to interpret and implement it, Huber said. But schools that ignored the obvious spirit of the law would risk losing funding for their sex ed programs, she said.