“New Sex Ed Curriculum for AISD approved”
AUSTIN — After numerous public comments about the adoption of a new sex ed curriculum for Austin Independent School District, the Board of Trustees approved the new sex ed curriculum for the district at the Feb. 25 school board meeting.
The new curriculum is focused on educating elementary students, as young as third-grade students, to be more aware of their bodies, relationships, behaviors, emotions, identities, and sexualities. The updated curriculum will go into effect for the 2019–2020 school year.
“We were very pleased, both as professionals and also as parents of AISD students,” said Jennifer Biundo, policy and data analyst of the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
The Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy across Texas. After being founded in 2009, the organization has been working with health clinics to help them increase their capacity to serve adolescents, as well as policy and advocacy work mainly on the state level. The organization participated twice in the public comments for this proposal and submitted a couple of written statements to support the proposal.
The district publicized the sex ed curriculum proposal by sending out electronic surveys to parents for their input, as well as conducting meetings. Several people of the Austin community voiced their opinions at the monthly school board meetings in regards to the proposal.
“Parents, if you believe that the goals of sex ed are to prevent pregnancy and disease, you are being wrong,” said Caryl Ayala, co-founder of the Concerned Parents of Texas. “You must understand that this type of curricula is rooted in an ideology you probably don’t share.”
Ayala said the ideology values above all health, science or parental authority and sexual freedom.
The proposed sex ed curriculum is supported by data research.
“The research shows that giving youth the access to this important information of their own bodies doesn’t make them more likely to have sex, it just makes them more likely to be safe if they are having sex,” said Biundo. “High-quality sex ed can delay sexual initiation.”
Austin parents do have a choice to opt their students out of the information if they are in opposition to this updated sex ed curriculum.
“Do you want instructors whose personal values might be in odds with yours to encourage your kids to question what they been taught at home and church and to come up with their own world view, based on taking sexual risks that endangers their health and well being?” said Ayala.
“Texas youth have a right to the information and health care access that they need to be healthy,” said Biundo.
Parents also have the option to review the curriculum’s specific topics in their student’s schools library.
After unanimously approving the scope and sequence section of the sex ed curriculum, the Board of Trustees will seek to approve the “nuts and bolts” of the new curriculum by June.
