Sex Ed Without Condoms May Not Meet CA Law
Sex ed without a mention of condoms violates California law according to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU against Clovis Unified School District.
California's Department of Education guidelines require that sexual health education in public school provides comprehensive and accurate information on sexual activity. The ACLU and the parents they represent claim that Clovis's program fails to meet those standards, reports The Washington Post.
The problem isn't what the program says but rather what it doesn't.
Clovis High School's sex ed class teaches abstinence only, according to the Fresno Bee. It discourages sex before marriage, even for adults.
Parents claim that doesn't fall within the state's laws. Students aren't exposed to safe sex practices, including condoms and contraception.
This lawsuit is just the latest step in an effort to get Clovis to change its sex ed policies. Parents began trying in 2009 to get the school to update their curriculum.
While some changes were made to the seventh grade program, the ninth grade program remains unchanged, reports the Fresno Bee. The school also allegedly dragged their feet in making course materials available.
The parents then hired a lawyer to represent their interests.
The guidelines on sex ed don't specify what topics must be taught so long as they are 'comprehensive and medically accurate.' This gives the school a lot of leeway to run its program as it sees fit.
But that doesn't mean they can violate the spirit of the law. The regulations were made in 2003 with the goal of providing compresensive education on sex.
The ACLU argues that the information is biased because it only offers one option. School district officials have not yet had time to review the suit.
The lawsuit is the first of its kind in California. If the ACLU wins, sex ed in Clovis will likely include information on condoms, contraception, and other practical resources to keep teens safe.
Related Resources:
- DA Threatens Teachers: Don't Follow Sex Ed Law (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- TN Abstinence Bill May Nix Hugs, Hand-Holding (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Preventing Teen Pregnancy in the Month of May (The Phoenix Family Law News Blog)