Aids Teaching Revised Bill Would Eliminate `Medical Accuracy’ In Curriculum

Local school boards should pick their own AIDS curricula without state interference, say Republican lawmakers eager to curb restrictions on what can be taught about the disease in Washington schools.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Larry Crouse, R-Spokane, would eliminate the requirement that a state agency screen AIDS education materials for “medical accuracy.” The measure has the support of many state GOP leaders.

House Bill 1492 would also relieve state officials of the responsibility of updating AIDS curricula as new facts about the disease are unearthed, and parents could opt to exclude their children from courses that teach about AIDS without the current requirement that they preview the curricula themselves.

“I think we have too many mandates from the state,” Crouse said. He added that local school boards are perfectly capable of choosing solid, factual materials to include in courses that discuss AIDS.

Critics worry that misleading information could seep into the schools if the state ceases its watchdog efforts - especially in rural communities.

“It’s important to provide consistently medically accurate information about the disease,” said John Peppert, an educational coordinator for the division of HIV/AIDS in the state Department of Health.

“There are current materials we have seen out there that are medically inaccurate,” Peppert said. Materials rejected for classroom use include videos that grossly exaggerate the number of youths infected with HIV, he said. Other banned materials claim the disease can be acquired by kissing or that women can only get pregnant one day a month.

Crouse’s bill could open doors for Teen Aid, a Spokane company that had its curricula rejected by the state several times, according to Deenie Dudley, who reviews AIDS curricula for the division of HIV/ AIDS.

“They have been determined repeatedly to be providing medically inaccurate information,” Dudley said. “They used references selectively to support conclusions that are contrary to the larger body of research.”

LeAnna Benn, director of Teen Aid, said the state is biased.

“Censorship is alive and well in the state of Washington,” Benn said. State-approved materials give children a false confidence in the reliability of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS, she said, adding that Teen Aid relies on the only sure-fire method: “abstinence before marriage, fidelity after.”

“Condoms don’t protect you from all the sexually transmitted diseases, shouldn’t we be honest?” Benn said. “I think we’re setting people up for failure.”

Crouse said he doesn’t intend to diminish AIDS education, but schools should choose for themselves how to go about it.

“It’s really important to teach about AIDS prevention,” Crouse said. “This is not something that’s isolated to the Seattle area, it’s all over the country.”

For the first time, new cases of AIDS in Washington are increasing faster in rural areas than they are in the Seattle/King County area, according to a report released in late January by the Governor’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.

Several area school district officials said they can handle teaching about the disease without the state’s interference.

“It would be one less hoop to jump through,” said Terry Weinman, assistant superintendent for the Riverside School District.

Jay Walter, director of curriculum for the Central Valley School District, agreed. “I believe that the same kind of thing could be done locally,” he said.

Some materials Central Valley wanted to use in its AIDS education have been rejected by the state, Walter said.

One video Central Valley wanted to show, called “No Second Chance,” was rejected because of errors, including the statement that HIV can be transmitted through saliva, according to Dudley.

The video was produced by Jeremiah Films, a company based in Hemet, Calif. Hemet has drawn national attention due to the efforts of its Christian conservative-controlled school board to push an abstinence-only sex education agenda.