California Sex Education Exposed: Part 2
This is the second email in a three-part series titled California Sex Education Exposed. In this series, you’ll learn what’s being taught to our children in California public schools: Kindergarten – 12th grade, what one pastor is doing to fight this, and how you and the congregation can respond.
| This email (Part 2) will go into detail about how sex education and “health” laws are playing out in our children’s classrooms. You may have been alarmed to hear about some of the things being done by public schools in the name of sex education and “health.” California Healthy Youth Act Signed into Law In 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Healthy Youth Act into law. It required public schools to teach “comprehensive sexual health education” and laid out a series of standards and regulations that would gladden the hearts of the folks at Planned Parenthood and the ACLU — understandably, since they played a big role in promoting the law. Here’s howthe law plays out in the classroom, represented by three samples from some of the state-approved curricular options presented to schools by the California Board of Education. These examples are also used on Church United’s edugraphic (see included flyer). |
| “Be Real. Be Ready.” You know what a Gingerbread Man is, right? Well, meet the Genderbread Person, featured in K–12 programs like “Be Real. Be Ready.” from the San Francisco Unified School District. This cartoon character is used to show children that their gender and sexuality could fall within a wide range. This includes not being restricted to identifying as male or female, but also includes possibilities such as “androgynous,” “intersex” and “genderqueer.” Click here and scroll down to p. 9 to see an example of the Genderbread Person. When kids reach fifth and sixth grades, “Be Real. Be Ready.” has them playing the “Condom Relay Race Game.” In this exercise, erect penis models are placed in front of the classroom. Each student runs to the model with a condom in hand, removes it, and explains how to correctly place it on the penis — then runs back to tag another student. If you click here, you can see this exercise, which starts on p. 3. Other Troublesome School Curricula Then, there’s the “Teen Talk” curriculum from Health Connected, a group based in Redwood City. This curriculum has middle schoolers playing card games where they break down into teams to decide which sexual behaviors are “no risk,” “low risk” or “high risk.” You can click here and go to p. 3 to see the risk lists. I don’t know what’s worse: The messages that sex educators are sending children, or the fact that educators have turned sex education into a game, forcing boys and girls in their early teens to play it together. Not every school uses the same curricula or conducts the same activities; However, all the state-approved curricula are deeply troublesome. Vaginal, anal and oral sex are normalized constantly in all of them. Beginning at age 12, children are specifically taught that they can receive birth control — including the morning-after pill (self-inducing abortion medications) and abortions — without telling their parents (much less getting permission). Materials promoting homosexuality and distorted notions of gender identity — sometimes in the guise of “anti-bullying” — are routine. And that’s the kind of thing the law was designed to do. Among other things, the California Healthy Youth Act says, “Instruction and materials shall affirmatively recognize that people have different sexual orientations and … shall be inclusive of same-sex relationships.” Further, they “shall teach pupils about gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes.” Ironically, it also says teaching shall “encourage” communication with parents. But that doesn’t prevent teaching that they can get abortions or birth control without their parents’ consent. There’s one approach that California’s law does forbid. Schools can teach abstinence as one of the many options to avoid unwanted pregnancy and disease, but teaching abstinence alone is banned. The law states that “Instruction and materials may not teach or promote religious doctrine,” although there’s nothing in the law against criticizing or undermining religious doctrine. The law seeks to promote aspects of this instruction (allegedly “age appropriate”) from K–12, but requires that students take comprehensive sex education at least twice (once in middle school and once in high school) to make sure its lessons are hammered home. Is there any escape? Only a limited one. Parents can opt their child out of all or part of sex education classes, yet they have to take the initiative. Schools aren’t allowed to take an “opt in” approach. However, they cannot hold their children out of sexual-orientation and gender-identity lessons, which are (by law) woven through the curricula outside of the openly-labeled sex-ed classes. These lessons can show up at any time and in any grade, without any warning. Most schools have gone along with the law, though there are scattered reports of exceptions — most notably in Orange County where two districts (Capistrano Unified and Orange Unified) have delayed implementing curricula. And, there are more places where parents and other community members are voicing their objections. That’s where you come in. How You Can Help I’m asking you to please make your congregation aware of what’s happening in California sex education in the wake of this law — and to ask them to take action. Preach about it. Talk about it in education hour. Take five minutes to make an announcement using the linked edugraphic. And above all, ask your flock to text “Protect” to 818-338-6877. This will connect them to our goal of getting 1 million-strong people to tell legislators how they feel — and will also provide them with information on how they can protect a generation of children in public schools. Click for English 2-sided Edugraphic .pdf file (high-resolution) Click for Spanish 2-sided Edugraphic .pdf file (high-resolution) If you’d like to order color printed copies at no cost to you or the church, contact Desare Ferraro at Church United. A sample script is available here detailing how to share the flyer with your congregation. When children are being victimized by state-sanctioned propaganda that violates God’s design for sexuality — and their identities as males and females — God’s people are called to respond in truth. |