Sex-ed guidelines bill to be introduced

OLYMPIA – The controversy over “abstinence-only” sexual education and “comprehensive” sexual education, which includes teaching about contraception, reached Washington state’s Capitol on Monday.

At a press conference, Rep. Shay Schaul-Berke, D-Normandy Park, announced that the soon to be introduced Healthy Youth Act would require schools to follow the Guidelines for Sexual Health Information and Disease Prevention. The voluntary guidelines stress teaching about both abstinence and contraception.

The guidelines, introduced last week, were established by the state Department of Health and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Teaching sex education in public schools is voluntary in the state. However, when a school district opts to teach it there are no regulations on how to teach it or what to teach. The Healthy Youth Act would require schools that choose to teach it to use the guidelines.

“We have standards in this state, we have curriculum in this state, and we even have tests in this state for good math education, good reading education. Well, we don’t happen to think that sexual health is any less important,” said Schaul-Berke.

One criticism of the guidelines is that teaching both abstinence and contraception could send a mixed message.

“It’s no more contradictory to say ‘We hope you’ll abstain for now, and whenever you do have sex we hope you’ll do it as safely as you possibly can’ than it is to say ‘We hope you’ll wait to drive until you’re licensed and whenever you do drive, we hope you’ll do it as safely as you can,” said Beth Reis, a representative from Public Health-Seattle and King County.

Another criticism is the act does not mention marriage.

“One word is glaringly absent and that word is ‘marriage’ ” said Jeff Kemp, a spokesperson for Families Northwest, a group that supports “strong relationship-based abstinence programs that speak to the importance and role of marriage.”

Reis disagreed with Kemp’s criticism. “People need to protect themselves whether or not they are married,” she said. “Most young people will marry some day and they won’t have a health ed teacher in their pocket the day they get married. They will need to be prepared.”

While the bill does not explicitly mention teaching family values, Schaul-Berke said it is implied.

“The language of the bill calls for all aspects of sexual health to be discussed and not all of them could be iterated in the bill, but it’s (marriage) implicit,” said Schaul-Berke.

Still, teaching youth about sex without a familial message bothers some.

“I think it’s shortsighted to talk so much about sex without marriage being front and center,” said Kemp, a former Seattle Seahawks quarterback.