Rep. Linda Lawson has introduced HB 1317 concerning notice to parents about abstinence only education. If a school decides to go the abstinence-only education route, it would have to send out the following notice:
“Your child is receiving abstinence-only human sexuality education.
Abstinence-only education does not teach students how to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases other than by remaining abstinent.
Your child is not receiving the following:
(A) Information on methods, other than abstinence, for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
(B) Medically accurate instruction on the risks and benefits, including safety and efficacy, of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved methods for:
(i) reducing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; and
(ii) preventing pregnancy.
(C) Medically accurate instruction regarding the correct use of FDA approved methods for:
(i) reducing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; and
(ii) preventing pregnancy.
(D) Instruction that provides lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students with the necessary skills for making and implementing responsible decisions about relationships and sexuality, including the use of all effective methods to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
(E) Instruction that provides sexually active students with the necessary skills for making and implementing responsible decisions about relationships and sexuality, including the use of all effective methods to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
You have the right to review the abstinence-only curriculum in its entirety. Written and audiovisual educational materials used in abstinence-only education are available for inspection.You have the right to excuse your child from all or parts of abstinence-only instruction.
You have the right to be involved in your child’s education.”.
Might as well require them to send out a notice saying, “Hi, we’re being criminally negligent with your child’s education. How soon would you like our resignation?” It would probably be better to skip sex education altogether than an abstinence-only curriculum that might give some parents the illusion that their children’s educational needs in these areas were being fulfilled.
I do not know. I saw your headline and thought that the wingnuts are at it again. Reading that disclosure, it pretty discloses everything that is wrong with abstinence only sex ed. I assume those who prefer our children ignorant of AIDS and SIDS and teen pregnancies have developed a standard form of legislation. Is this the standard or something different?
It does sound a little strange on its face, but I think people don’t really understand what “Abstinence-only” education really means.
I find this entire debate incredibly disheartening anyway. When I was in school at Delta in Delaware County in the late 80’s-early 90’s, I had comprehensive sex ed in 5th grade (voluntary, parent-attended), 7th grade, and 9th grade. It covered everything and anything you ever needed, wanted, or not wanted to know about sex. I completely credit that intensive program with keeping me informed of my options about birth control, and managed to not get pregnant in high school or college. I think it also gave honest, straight-forward info about STDs in such a way that wouldn’t scare you, exactly, but make you realize how important it is to protect yourself. I’m very thankful for that program and the great teachers that taught it.
Bah. This comment is drifting toward a rant, so I’ll close with saying that it’s better for parents to completely understand what their child may or may not be taught in this arena, so they can fill in the gaps if necessary. It’s just too bad we’d have to legislate it.
Rant away! Seems to me effective education can’t be a matter of sticking your head in the sand, ignoring potential issues, and hoping your kid never wanders off into unexplained territory just because you’ve told them not to. And you can’t go all “reefer madness” on them, exaggerating the threat to where they know you’re full of crap. If you do that, there is a danger they’ll assume there is no threat at all.
This is an anti-wingnut law requiring schools to notify parents how deficient the sex “education” their child is about to receive really is.
It is nice to see social values legislation from those opposed to the religious right for a change. Finally, some groups appear to be playing offense instead of just arguing against proposals from the religious rights.