Parents in Victoria, Australia Shocked Over High School’s Push of Abstinence-Focused Sex Ed
Parents of students at Officer Secondary College were displeased upon receiving an email promoting abstinence as part of the school’s Respectful Relationships curriculum, a state government initiative aimed at stamping out domestic violence, and which is also designed to challenge gender stereotypes and promote equality. The email stated that the goal of the curriculum was to “delay sexual activity in school-aged youth.” Some are worried about how this curriculum is being interpreted by certain schools.
Nevada School District Struggles To Find a Curriculum That Pleases Everyone
In Nevada, the Washoe County School District is struggling to find a sex ed curriculum that everyone can be happy with. The most recently proposed curriculum was a sharp departure from the abstinence-only approach they’d been using, and would cover topics such as safe sex practices. Those against the curriculum didn’t appreciate its interjection of “progressive ideals” surrounding a person’s sexuality. The proposed curriculum would have aligned with all the National Sexuality Education Standards, whereas the current curriculum does not.
Parents in Alabama Want Their Kids to Have Access to Sex Ed
The results of a phone survey conducted by the University of South Alabama and commissioned by the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy show that Alabama parents with children in public school want their kids to have a sex education class. Those surveyed were parents with children enrolled in public schools, and 83 percent of them supported sex education in school. Sex education is not currently mandated. And as the law stands now, those who offer sex ed must place an emphasis on abstinence as the best option.
Sex Ed Program in Austin, Texas Being Updated—But What Does That Mean?
A newly formed religious extremist group in Austin, Texas, called Concerned Parents of Austin (CPA), has spent the summer speaking out against the Austin Independent School District’s Welcoming Schools program, a professional development training program created by the Human Rights Campaign to help teachers support children with diverse families, and to decrease the bullying of queer and transgender kids. CPA believes this program promotes “the LGBT agenda” in schools. The district has since announced that it will be expanding upon its program with a new one called All Are Welcome, and the CPA are celebrating, though its still unclear what this new program will entail.
