Kansas sucks......... even more.

kwright · #1 (**permalink**) 03-18-2006, 04:55 PM

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Parental permission required for sex ed
Kansas school board replaces 'opt-out' policy

Thursday, March 16, 2006; Posted: 10:02 a.m. EST (15:02 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/03....ap/index.html
TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- School districts in Kansas must get parents' written permission before teaching their children sex education, the state Board of Education decided Wednesday.

The board adopted the policy in a 6-4 vote. Up to now, most Kansas districts had an "opt-out" policy -- they enrolled children in sex ed unless a parent objected in writing.

Only a few other states have such "opt-in" requirements on sex education, according to the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, a group that promotes sex education. Among them: Arizona, Nevada and Utah.

Board members who voted for the new policy said some parents told them they did not know their children were taking sex education until the classes had started.

"It's about empowering parents. That's the bottom line," said board chairman Steve Abrams.

Critics of the measure said that the children whose parents won't see a permission form or won't turn it in are the ones most likely to need the courses. Some also said that the rule may violate the Kansas Constitution, which gives local school boards broad authority.

One board member wants the new policy to go further and require abstinence-only courses. "We need to send the correct message," Kathy Martin said.

Under her proposal, a school could lose its state accreditation if it did not offer nine weeks of instruction on "abstinence until marriage" at least once in grades 6-9.

The board said it would discuss Martin's proposal at a later meeting.

Wednesday's vote came less than three weeks after the state Senate approved a bill requiring all school districts to continue requiring sex education classes and prohibit them from going to abstinence-only courses. The bill is now before a House committee.

The board had similar regulations in place for nearly two decades, but they expired.

In November, after a debate that attracted worldwide attention, the board adopted standards that treat evolution as a flawed theory.

clarebear · #2 (**permalink**) 03-18-2006, 07:01 PM

Hmmmm...I could have sworn back in tha day when I was a wee one that sex education needed parental consent where I went to school. I guess it wasn't ever an issue with me because my parents always approved of it. Anyway, that was a LONG time ago, I'm not sure of the policy now.

midwifemommyofmany · #3 (**permalink**) 03-18-2006, 08:16 PM

Yes, when I was in school (late 70's very early 80's) my parents had to sign a permission slip for me to be part of the sex-ed class. We had to do something similar with our teenagers in the past few years when they went to public school also.

BooBooKItty · #4 (**permalink**) 03-18-2006, 11:54 PM

It was the early 90's when I was taught sex ed and I can swear that we needed one as well.

Mumfie · #5 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 02:12 AM

Why are the objections to sex-ed?

Praise the teenage pregnancies and hail be the std

kwright · #6 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 05:33 AM

we didn't need permission , because it wasn't taught. Personally I think sex education should be mandatory to graduate, just like GYM.

madis_mommy04 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 05:52 AM

I think when I was in school... I think 4th grade is when we first started sex ed (which was actually all about pubic hair and periods-- much more age appropriate for 9 year olds than the "This is where babies come from" course!)... so that was 1993-1994. We didn't need permission, but parents could pull kids out of it if they wanted. Even then I didn't understand why a parent would object to kids learning about REAL LIFE.

I did know a girl who's parents didn't want her in the classes... She ended up pregnant when she was 15 and didn't know how she got that way.

Personally I think sex education should be mandatory to graduate, just like GYM.

Amen. Although i'd like to believe that those parents who object to their children taking the classes are teaching at home, I know it's not the case. And I'd like to believe that if my daughter had questions that she'd come to me, but I know that's not always how it works either. I'd much rather my daughter know the consequences of sex and HOW things work than knowing how quickly she can run around in a circle 4 times.

solusa · #8 (**permalink**) 03-19-2006, 06:42 AM

I went to high school in KS, and took advantage of the "opt-out" of the sex ed class.I saw it as a waste of a semester for me, and instead took a class on International Relations. My folks agreed to let me take an academic class instead of the sex ed. They were aware of what I knew in regards to sex ed, and supported my decision to skip the easy A class, and challenge myself instead. I had to write a letter to the school board, and take it to the board office with my folks to get out of it.

I agree that the "opt-in" is assinine. It wasn't difficult to opt-out, and if parents don't realize that their kids are taking a sex ed class, what else is going on in their kids' lives that they don't know about? Yep, score another for Kansas.