When it meets tonight, the board of the Chula Vista Elementary School District will get its first glimpse at a proposed overhaul to the district’s policy governing sex education, an update district staff says is needed to reflect current state law.
The proposed policy, like the one currently in place, will continue to “teach that abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only certain way to prevent unintended pregnancy” and sexually transmitted diseases. However, the proposed policy will also reaffirm the district’s commitment to teaching only information that is “medically accurate and objective.”
Stricken from the proposal is current guidance that teachers discuss “the possible emotional and psychological consequences of preadolescent and adolescent sexual intercourse outside of marriage” and “[t]each honor and respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage.”
Tonight’s presentation is only a first reading of the policy, which means it will be voted on at a later date.
The proposal is coming on the heels of last week’s release of a new report, commissioned by the federal government, finding that abstinence-only sexual education does little to prevent sexually activity by youngsters. It was the most authoritative report on the controversial issue to date.