CV considers new sex ed plan

The mood was lighter at Monday night’s Central Valley board meeting as board members agreed with parents who were against proposed new sex education curriculum and discussed a plan that removes the controversial elements.

The new plan, which the board will vote on at its next meeting Oct. 13, has removed the lessons that gave detailed instruction on condom use. It was that portion of the proposed new curriculum that some parents vehemently opposed at meetings in May and June.

The district had long taught an abstinence-only curriculum, but the new state law requires school districts to teach safe-sex practices along with abstinence. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction led the district to believe that it had to accept the entire curriculum the state endorsed, said Jean Marczynski, executive director of learning and teaching. The district consulted with legal counsel and found out otherwise.

“We do, in fact, have leeway on what to teach,” she said.

The district sent the curriculum back to the committee.

“The committee was more than willing to remove lesson four,” which dealt with condom use, Marczynski said.

Board members and district staff said repeatedly that the curriculum is now pretty much the same as the before, with a few minor changes. The material emphasizes abstinence as the only 100 percent effective way of avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

“We do have to have balanced, medically accurate curriculum,” she said. “It’s actually the same curriculum we’ve always had.”

The only change is that lessons in grades 10 through 12 will be taught during advisory classes. If a student asks a question about something not specifically included in the curriculum, teachers will be trained to tell students to go home and ask their parents, Marczynski said.

School nurse specialist Cheryl Sampson has been involved with teaching the sex education curriculum for years.

“This is a repackaging of the same thing,” she said. “This is a more user-friendly version. We’re basically getting the bare minimums out there that are required by law.”

Though the board meeting room was packed Monday, only a few parents spoke. All said they were grateful that the district listened to their concerns and made changes to the curriculum.

No matter what the board decides in October, there will be someone who doesn’t like the decision, said board President Tom Dingus.

“There is not a solution that will please everybody,” he said.

Several board members expressed concerns about the process parents have to go through to opt their children out of the sex education curriculum. The new law requires parents to view the videos and materials used in the curriculum before opting their children out.

In other business, the board also heard a presentation on the new math requirements that are being put together by the state. The district will be shopping for new math curriculum, though none currently available addresses the new requirements in grades K through 8.

Publishers will likely rework their curriculums to better align with the state’s new standards, but that takes time, said Terrie VanderWegen, executive director of learning and teaching.

“None of them were aware of what the new standards would look like,” she said.

The new standards will be organized by grade level and emphasize mastery at each grade level.

“The new standards go much deeper,” VanderWegen said.

“It really looks like we’re going back to basic math facts,” said board member Debbie Long. “It looks like the new (curriculum) is a very solid foundation.”

The district has formed a math adoption committee, which will include members of the community, and a parent committee. Over the school year the two groups will evaluate the new standards and several proposed curriculums.