Austin district parents weigh in on proposed sex ed changes

Grandparent Margaret Edwards welcomed updating the Austin school district's sex education curriculum, which is being overhauled for the first time in more than a decade.

There are several things she likes about the proposed sex ed curriculum, including issues about consent and teaching students how to accept when others say "no."

"In our culture, women bear great responsibility in terms of protection from sexual assault," said Edwards, a former teacher who has two grandchildren in the district. "I was concerned that our current curriculum only teaches students how to say 'no.' I wanted to see a curriculum that also includes how to hear 'no' and respond appropriately to a 'no.' And I was very pleased to learn that that is a part of it."

Edwards was among the 45 family and community members who on Tuesday night attended the second of three district community input meetings on proposed revisions to the sex education curriculum.

The school district is revamping the curriculum for grades three through eight, and later for the younger students. The curriculum standards include: safety; identity; anatomy and physiology; puberty and adolescent development; pregnancy and reproduction; and sexually-transmitted diseases. The curricula also will include information on bullying, the effect of social media on body image and expectations friends, family and culture have on the way boys and girls act.

But some of the revisions to the Human Sexuality and Responsibility Curricula for elementary and middle schools have stirred controversy, including elementary school lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity as well as lesson topics that could be introduced in kindergarten and include teaching proper words for body parts, such as "penis," "nipples" and "vulva." (Changes in kindergarten through second grades aren't scheduled yet but could be included in coming years.)

After pushback from some parents who said the curriculum was being adopted without input, district officials now are seeking feedback on possible lesson topics and which grade levels the curriculum should include. The district launched a survey about the proposed sex education changes to get input from parents, campus advisory councils, teachers and high school students enrolled in health courses. Thousands already have filled it out.

Survey results won't be released until December or January. The majority in attendance Tuesday night appeared to support the changes.

Parent Suzanna McVey said it's time to update the curriculum with best practices on issues surrounding social and emotional learning, bullying, cyberbullying, reproduction and protection from abuse.

"It's a mental health issue as well. There's so many children who feel different and they are at greater risk for suicide," said McVey, who has two children in the district. "If we could start intervening earlier and (have) more acceptance of children of each other and within the community, then they would have a better opportunity to feel better about themselves and be accepted."

Other parents voiced opposition to some of the changes, including that the proposed middle school standards seem too complex or unclear, and questioned how the district will ensure consistency across the district in teaching the material and whether students will be assessed on learning objectives. Some say the standards are inappropriate and raised concerns that the district’s survey doesn’t give parents the choice to say the topics shouldn’t be introduced at all.

Akmal Shirzad, who has seven children in the district, attended Tuesday night's meeting with a group of families to learn more about the proposed changes and to express their concern.

"We teach that at home," Shirzad said, adding that other members of the Muslim community in Austin he has met with oppose the changes because they do not believe they are appropriate topics to be taught at school. "They already know because we've already talked to them about those issues and what our religion says. Our kids know about that when they come to school. We teach them when they're 5 and 6 years old. When we send our kids to school, they already know what's right and what's wrong, who can touch you, and if you don't want to be touched."

Parents can exclude their children out from all of the human sexuality lessons — five days of lessons in elementary school and 10 days in middle school — or individual ones. The schools will offer alternate lessons in social and emotional learning, programs that teach students to learn to recognize and manage their emotions, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions and learn how to better handle stressful situations, among other things.

A final community input meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Eastside Memorial High School cafeteria, 1012 Arthur Stiles Road.