Helena sex ed proposal sees opposition

A proposed sex education program that teaches fifth-graders the different ways people have intercourse and first-graders about gay love has infuriated parents and forced the school board to take a closer look at the issue.

Helena school trustees were swamped Tuesday night at a hearing that left many of the hundreds of parents in attendance standing outside a packed board room. They urged the school board in this city nestled in the Rocky Mountains to take the sex education program back to the drawing board.

The proposed 62-page document covers a broad health and nutrition education program and took two years to draft. But it is the small portion dealing with sexual education that has drawn the ire of many in the community who feel it is being pushed forward despite its obvious controversial nature.

Parents appeared most worried about pieces of the plan that teaches first-graders about same-gender relationships, fifthgraders that sexual intercourse includes "vaginal, oral, or anal penetration," and high school students about erotic art. The curriculum would also teach kindergartners anatomical terms such as penis, vagina, breast, nipples, testicles, scrotum and uterus.

"They made this more controversial by adding in all this stuff like same-gender relationships to small children, teaching body parts to kindergartners, and teaching erotic art to ninth through 12th-graders," Mikal Wilkerson, who has five children in the school system and a husband who sits on t h e s c h o o l board, s a i d Wednesday in an interview.

"They even teach about anxiety about sexual performance in high school."

Supporters say the proposed health education curriculum contains honest, science-based information on wellness and allows students to make better decisions. At Tuesday's meeting they urged the board to accept the policy.

"This is about reality and truth so our kids don't grow up in La-La Land, and have sufficient knowledge to make informed decisions," Mary Ann Dunwell said in the Helena Independent Record.

The board takes the issue up again next month, and the outrage suggests that members could alter the plan to deal with all the complaints. One resident said parents may have to consider impeachment of board members or a lawsuit if it goes forward.

Marianne Rencher, a lawyer who will have a second-grader and a kindergartner in the school system next year, wants certain aspects of the sex education program taken out, particularly the fifth-grade curriculum about intercourse. She said the rest of the health program could go forward while the sex education is recrafted.

Trustee Terry Beaver said he thinks much in the policy is favorable, but believes the public backlash means they should carve out the sexuality elements and deal with them separately.

"It appears to be a strong divisive issue. I think when the community is that strongly divided we need to take a further look at it," Beaver said.

Beaver said his issue with the plan revolves on whether certain components are being taught too young.

"I don't know that anything needs to be taken out," he said.

"Some of it might be age inappropriate.

We are going to have to consider how we teach it and when we teach it."