Parents sidestepped in sex-ed debate
A Virginia school board this month approved drastic changes to its district’s sex-education curriculum despite strong parental opposition.
The Fairfax County School Board, which governs one of the country’s largest school districts, voted on June 14 to change “biological sex” to “sex assigned at birth” across the curriculum, and removed clergy from a list of trusted adults. In addition, high school students will now learn about the HIV-prevention pill known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, which the Food and Drug Administration has not cleared for anyone under age 18. Students also will no longer learn “abstinence is the only 100 percent effective method” to avoid teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.
“Biological sex is the medically and biologically accurate term to use when referring to a person’s sex, which includes chromosomes, hormones, and internal and external reproductive organs,” Hope Wojciech, a parent in the district, said during the long and contentious meeting. “A person’s sex is not something that is assigned at birth or otherwise. It is established at conception. … This is what students are taught in biology classes and should remain consistent throughout the curriculum.”
But others disagreed.
“Members of the transgender community and their families and allies prefer ‘sex assigned at birth,’” said Fairfax County teacher Claudia Wilde. “If we were to use a different term, we would be erasing those members of our community.”
After that meeting, the board received 1,300 comments on the proposed changes. By nearly 5-to-1, the commenters opposed changing “biological sex” and teaching about the pre-exposure prophylaxis pill. Almost all opposed the removal of clergy from the list of trusted adults and the removal of abstinence from the curriculum. American College of Pediatricians president Michelle Cretella and three local doctors sent a letter to the school board rejecting proposed medical justification for the changes.
Despite pushback, the board voted 10-1 to change the curriculum. —Charissa Crotts
Comments
Janet B
Posted: Sat, 06/30/2018 10:38 amSo, the Virginia school board decided to ignore the majority of the parents instead of the minority.
Virginia Parents, time to find alternatives to public schools!
RC
Posted: Mon, 07/02/2018 10:03 amOr vote in school board members who know the difference between reality and wishful thinking.
phillipW
Posted: Mon, 07/02/2018 09:05 amThe traditions of the past 100 years or so of government run public schools are now dead. When you ignore the vast majority of your constituents you deserve to go out of business. Teachers Unions and thousands of citizens who are employed by such a system have been riding the gravy train too long of 180 work days a year in favor of getting able to screw off during the summer and do nothing and get paid a considerable amount of money for a 10 month a year job. School administrators are doing a whole lot better than the teachers, when you consider that their jobs are PR positions, where they simply make public appearances, smile and wave, and tell everyone that everything is going fabulous. All for well over six figures a year.
Time to nuke the entire system and allow parents the option of educating their children however they see fit. Those that are stupid enough to allow their children to continue to be "educated" under this demonic system deserve what they get.
RC
Posted: Mon, 07/02/2018 10:21 amMarriage lite? The start of LGBT civil unions was another step in opening Pandora’s Box of horrors to depravity. So I get the two option request. But anybody who says they want the protections of marriage, but is unwilling to get married, is being illogical. If they cannot see the illogical of their argument, they should not be allowed to produce children. Because it is their children who will suffer the consequences of their inability to think clearly.