District of Columbia public schools will teach lessons on sexual orientation and same-sex behavior in health education classes, according to new guidelines released two weeks ago by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).
“These standards are ideally to address those key health issues and the basic health education needs of D.C. youth,” Adam Tenner, Executive Director of Metro TeenAIDS said. Metro TeenAIDS, an organization which works to prevent the spreading of HIV among youths in the Washington Metropolitan area, was one of the organizations involved in drafting the health standard.
According to a report by the Black AIDS Institute, homosexual African-American men are one of the largest populations living with HIV.
“If you don’t know the details about the GLBTQ individuals, you probably want to just act out against them,” OSSE Communications Director John Stokes said. “By teaching [students] correct terminology, it fosters a peaceful school environment.”
D.C. is not the first local jurisdiction to propose including same sex lessons in the health curriculum. Montgomery County, Md. implemented same-sex health education into its schools in Spring 2005. The County was sued in 2005 by Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum (CRC), Family Leader Network and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays. The groups said it exposes students only to a pro-gay mentality and that the class violates parents’ rights to control what their children learn in school.
CRC Spokesperson Michelle Turner said the Montgomery County class teaches students that homosexuality is an innate trait and promotes anal sex.
“I think it’s very unfortunate that our elected officials are becoming advocates for groups that are a minority,” she said about the OSSE’s decision to include same-sex health education in the D.C. health curriculum. “It’s unfortunate that they’re teaching kids about risky behaviors at such a young age and pushing such behavior to seem normal.”
The county school board rejected these claims, but ruled that parents must sign consent forms to allow their kids to take the health class.
The OSSE would mandate that same-sex health education would be introduced to the students in sixth grade. The goal at this grade level, a draft of the program says, is to emphasize that people need love, physical intimacy and affection regardless of sexual orientation.
The curriculum would introduce two new standards in the eighth grade. The first is for students to know the definition of sexual orientation and that as people grow they may become attracted to other individuals of the same sex. The second is to know different theories about what determines sexual orientation, including genetics or cultural influences.
A public hearing about the new policy will be held on November 28th. In December, the D.C. State Board of Education will meet to approve or reject the draft. If the draft is approved, Stokes said, then it is up to each individual school to set the curriculum for the next school year.
