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[current_date]
BY BRIAN HEWS
State Board of Education officials have agreed to a new structure for sex education in the classroom, and parents are not happy about it.
“Life has become exponentially more complex in the last few decades,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the board, in a statement. “The Health Curriculum Framework — developed by educators for educators — gives district administrators and educators the guidance and resources they need to develop curriculum and instruction that can help students adopt healthy behaviors that support their physical and mental well-being and navigate through the sometimes complicated situations that will come their way.”
The guidance is not a mandate and is aimed at kindergarten through 12th grade students providing officials with information to use in a sex education curriculum.
The updated structure includes the use of gender-neutral and LGBTQ-inclusive language, material on consent and sex-trafficking and the continued teaching of HIV prevention
The new curriculum also includes suggestions on nutrition, physical activity, tobacco, alcohol, and skin care.
But it is the sex education that has angered parents and others.
Some of the books that were suggested as resources include “S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-to-Know Sexuality Guide to Get You Through Your Teens and Twenties,” and “Changing You.”
S.E.X. includes descriptions of anal sex and bondage while Changing You which includes cartoon illustrations of female and male genitalia.
The California State School Board of Education believes that the provision of this type of information will benefit students in the long run.
All school districts will have autonomy over what they use from the recommended guidance.
Parents also have the right to opt out of sex education lessons for their children under the California Healthy Youth Act.
ABCUSD Superintendent Dr. Mary Sieu told HMG-LCCN, “We recognize the sensitive nature of teaching sex education in public schools today. However, the parents and families may opt their children out of sexual health instruction. We have provided many workshops for families on what is taught in our District and will be responsive to those who desire an alternative instruction.”
