Sex education materials for next year’s classes have been approved by the Park City Board of Education.
“Utah is probably one of the most conservative states in the country and it’s almost scripted out what a teacher is allowed to say and what they’re not allowed to say,'” Park City School District Superintendent Ray Timothy said. “Anytime we look at the content materials, we have to have a committee from the community review that material to see if it meets the community norms and our expectations and if it meets the requirements addressed by the state.”
The program stresses abstinence from sexual activity. Teachers cannot discuss methods of birth control like condoms.
“We’ve got great educators who are using the programs and are very much cognizant of their boundaries,” said Lori Gardner, the director of curriculum and instruction for the Park City School District.
A new Web site will allow students to access materials for human sexuality courses online, she explained to school board members at a meeting June 10. The panel voted unanimously to approve next year’s materials.
“It’s something we address every year,” Timothy said.
Instructors in the health sciences are trained to teach the sensitive materials, he said.
“They’re very careful in how they address the content because there are some serious repercussions if a teacher is talking about things inappropriately in a class. If it’s not allowed by Utah law the penalty could be as extreme as the loss of their teaching license,” Timothy said. “The nice thing about our state is that it’s been clearly defined.”
A parent could choose to pull their student from any class.
“They have the right to have their student work on a different activity and not have to review that information and look at it,” Timothy said. “The teacher would be responsible for coming up with some kind of alternative activity where they could earn the same credit and obtain the same letter grade.”