MI- Parents upset over sex ed changes

District considers addition of activities

5-26-2008 Michigan:

Parents in the Farmington Public School District are upset over proposed supplemental activities for sex education classes for seventh- and ninth-graders.

Materials under consideration for ninth-graders include Condom Line Up, which will show students how to properly put on a condom using a model penis, and a board game called Sex and Consequences. Other proposed activities include true-or-false quizzes for seventh-graders. The curriculum will remain the same.

The district's sex education advisory committee will meet Tuesday at Warner Middle School to consider parent comments from a meeting last week, where at least 30 parents objected to most of the activities. The committee plans to present its proposal to the school board June 3.

Parent Andrea Borden, who attended the meeting, said the games, particularly Condom Line Up, cast the serious topic in a joking light. She said the activity contradicts the district's claim that abstinence is the primary focus of the sex education program.

"It's like giving kids drugs, then telling them, 'Don't do drugs, but if you do, here's how you do it,' " said Borden, a mother of a third-grader and fifth-grader.

Beth Salk, a district parent and member of the committee, said the resources were researched by the district's health teachers.

"We have to trust their knowledge and their experience to make the learning experience as effective as possible," said Salk.

District health coordinator Tera Shamey said the activities are optional for teachers. Shamey said parents have a choice, too.

"They can opt out of sex education with no penalty," she said. ..News Source.. by STACY JENKINS • GANNETT NEWS SERVICE