District 200 sex ed omits vital information, mom says
A sex education program that stresses a virginal lifestyle until marriage is unrealistic and dangerous in the eyes of at least one Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 parent.
Karen Henk asked the District 200 school board Wednesday night to end the abstinence-only sex education her daughter and other middle school students receive in the district.
Henk delivered a shortened version of a written speech that quoted extensively from the workbook used in sexual education courses in the district.
The workbook is called "A.C. Green's Game Plan Abstinence Program." A.C. Green is a former NBA player and teammate of Earvin "Magic" Johnson, one of the first well-known athletes to contract HIV.
Henk noted that 31 pages of the 78-page workbook make references to abstinence. There's also an abstinence pledge students take at the end of the course. Meanwhile, there are only three pages that reference contraception.
Those references tell students condoms are not effective barriers to sexually transmitted diseases, and the majority of unintended pregnancies occur among women who use birth control.
Henk said that provides "inadequate and at times dangerously misleading" information for students.
"When I saw this workbook, I was absolutely stunned," read Henk's speech. "I asked one of the eighth-graders whether this health class also included some discussion of contraception. Her response? 'What's contraception?'"
But Henk also made it clear she didn't have a problem with teaching the value of abstinence along with contraception.
"Hopefully most (students) will postpone sexual activity for many years, and a few will wait until marriage," read Henk's speech. "But the purpose of sex ed should be providing ALL of the tools necessary to help young people make responsible decisions."
District 200 residents looking for a swift resolution will have to wait. The school board did not have an immediate response.
However, school board President Andy Johnson did clarify that abstinence-only sexual education classes were not instituted by board policy.
District staff in a separate interview on Wednesday clarified that abstinence-only sexual education is a federally funded program, but District 200 does not take any of those dollars. The current program has been in place for about four years now. Students receive further sexual education as part of their health curriculum once they get to high school.
As in many parts of the country, the sex ed debate may inject a political element. Republican Mark Stern quickly rebutted Henk's comments, saying they were not in line with the beliefs of the District 200 community as a whole. Meanwhile, Democrat Alicia Fitz, who was also in attendance, said Henk's comments have wide support.