Jul 7, 2009 12:02 am US/Pacific
Sonoma Schools Square Off On Sex Ed
SONOMA COUNTY (CBS 5) ―
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Abstinence Only Education
CBS
California says sex education information must be comprehensive and include birth control. But for two years, CBS 5 Investigates has been documenting cases where the state's instructions are not being followed.
Now the latest district is Sonoma County, where a controversial program has been teaching a program the state says is illegal.
"Accidents happen, kids have sex, they make bad choices," says parent Robert Edmonds. "They should be educated about how to protect themselves when those situations arise."
Edmonds wanted his 12-year-old son to have sex education at his Sebastopol middle school. But then a group called "Free To Be" came into his son's health science class, teaching a curriculum called abstinence-only-until-marriage.
And when he researched the group online, Edmonds says, "I didn't see any information about any other forms of birth control, or sexually transmitted diseases, and they weren't apparently teaching any of that stuff. To me as a parent, that's not acceptable."
So Edmonds complained - first to the school, then to the local school board, and finally to the American Civil Liberties Union. His complaint made it all the way to the state Department of Education, which fired off a letter to Sonoma County officials reminding them of the requirements of state law. Abstinence-only education "is not permitted in the state's public schools," read the letter, and sex ed programs must be "comprehensive" and include information about "birth control."
And in May, the county told schools that Free To Be could no longer teach its ideas in the county's public classrooms.
But Edmonds says the fight's not over.
"I feel like, based on my experience, other parents aren't even aware this is going on," he says.
In fact, CBS 5 Investigates found that Free To Be, a program that until a year and a half ago was funded through Catholic Charities and is still housed in Catholic Charities' building in Santa Rosa, has been teaching an abstinence-only curriculum lacking state-required information on birth control in Sonoma County schools for seventeen years.
The question is, if it's against state law, how can that happen? To understand that, you might want to meet West Sonoma County Schools Superintendent, Keller McDonald.
"It should remain the local schools', the local community's decision what happens in the local classrooms," says McDonald.
He says his district invites several groups into classrooms to present what he calls an overall - balanced - sex ed program. So why should Free To Be be excluded? he asks.
"They provide a thought-provoking perspective that we hope to present to our students to encourage them to consider all sides when making wise choices."
But the state Department of Education expert in charge of enforcement, Sharla Smith, says, "We're not dealing with viewpoints, we are dealing with the law."
Smith points out that Free To Be's funding comes from a federal program that pays for groups to teach an abstinence-only-until-marriage concept. The problem with that, she says, is that groups that get the federal money are required to teach information that is biased and scientifically inaccurate, which violates state law.
"One of the primary important tenets of California law," says Smith, "Is we rely on materials that are medically accurate and objective."
For example, one federal guideline requires that children be taught that sex outside of marriage will "likely have harmful psychological and physical effects."
"And there's no medical basis for that claim," says Smith.
"Free To Be is not in violation of state law," says the Sue Bisbee, the group's founder and executive director. "We want teens to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. And we believe that the choice of living an abstinent lifestyle, through high school and into marriage, is the healthiest choice."
And, says Bisbee, all of Free To Be's information is medically accurate. CBS 5 asked to review the group's current curriculum to see for ourselves. Bisbee turned us down but told us, "Our curriculum is up to date."
However, the ACLU, which has been fighting to remove the group from public schools, says Free To Be's curriculum used in Sonoma County schools in 2005 was full of inaccuracies. For instance, in a section on teen pregnancy, instructors were told to tell children that "numerous studies" show many women who have abortions will suffer something called "post abortion syndrome." The ACLU calls that "made-up" science.
And Sharla Smith of the state Department of Education says, "Abstinence-only curricula simply defy the education code."
But Free To Be leaders believe the state is wrong and they're looking at their legal options on how to challenge the Department of Education and get back into Sonoma County's public classrooms.
"We believe that they're going to welcome us back in the fall," says Bisbee.
But the group's federal funding may be in doubt. In May, President Barak Obama cut funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage education in his proposed budget for 2010.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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