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BY SUSIE WILSON
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
SEX MATTERS
The health care reform debate that is raging round the nation has turned my thoughts to sex education programs in New Jersey, which are normally part of the health education curriculum. When President Obama and politicians use the word "prevention," I pay particular attention to the discussion. For me, school-based sex education has always been about prevention: the frontline of defense against such costly problems as teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and the need for abortion. (As many already know, the U.S. teen birth rate is higher than that of any other developed nation and one in four teens has an STD.)
With the start of the school year, I decided to have a look at the New Jersey Department of Education's statewide standards for Health and Physical Education that includes a standard for Human Relationships and Sexuality. There are references in the standard to "family life education," which I should probably explain. Back in the late '70s, when the State Board of Education was trying to pass a policy requiring sex education, I doubt we would have been successful with the legislature and the public had we not used the words "family life education" instead of sex education. Now, with a more relaxed attitude toward sexuality, I think policymakers and government officials might use the term "sex education" with less discomfort and fear of backlash.
If you have children in K-12 schools, and even if you don't, you may be interested in knowing what statewide programs should include. I hope you will use this information to check out your own kids' classes and speak up if you think they need to be improved.
Here are the key points that a school district needs to follow when implementing family life/sex education to meet Standard 2.4: Human Relationships and Sexuality. If a school district does not comply with the Standards, it stands a chance of losing state funds.- Students are required to take health education which include a family life education component and requires that all students in grades 1-12 take at last 150 minutes of health, safety, and physical education per week each year. Content in the area of family life education is outlined in Standard 2.4: Human Relationships and Sexuality;
- A parent can remove his or her child from any part of the instruction that "is in conflict with his or her conscience or sincerely held moral or religious beliefs." An appropriate class will be offered to the student whose parent withdraws him/her;
- Parents have the right upon request to review all curriculum materials. Many schools inform parents of the content and expectation of the courses so they can be partners in supporting its goals;
- Instruction must be "medically accurate, unbiased, and not promoting a particular religion";
- Each district curricula and instruction must be "free of bias and offer positive interaction among students, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or belief";
- New Jersey schools are not "required" to develop abstinence-only programs. However, according to the "stress abstinence law," (N.J.S.A 18A:35-4, 19 et seq., the AIDS Prevention Act of 1999, see below), schools must stress abstinence as "one completely reliable method of prevention when discussing contraception." Schools are also required that when methods of contraception are discussed, the failure rates (of adult users, as there is no sufficient data of failures of teen use) be included in the discussion;
- Schools must be sensitive to religious and cultural beliefs about family and sexuality;
- School programs for children and youth from K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12 must be developmentally appropriate;
- Schools must teach about all kinds of families, including same-sex families; and
- Schools are required and students must learn by the end of grade eight, to "discuss topics about sexual orientation. Issues might include: "tolerance and sensitivity, harassment and name-calling, stereotyping and the development of gender identity and its relationship to puberty and adolescence."
(If you want to read all of the details of the New Jersey Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Core Curriculum Standards, go to the N.J. Department of Education's website.
