Posted by
Chris Rawlings on Sunday, April 15, 2007 5:43:33 PM
The Democratic-led Colorado state legislature passed a new 'science-based' sex-education bill that looks likely to be signed into law by Democratic Governor Bill Ritter. Among other things, the bill would forbid Colorado schools from teaching abstinence-only sex education. That's not going over well with many schools districts.
From today's Denver Post:
Students in Wray don't receive lessons in health class on how to use condoms or when to take the morning-after pill, and the small, northeastern Colorado community likes it that way.
But a proposed state law awaiting a likely signature from Gov. Bill Ritter will force school districts to include science-based material, including emergency contraception, in sex-ed classes.
"We don't teach that kind of material ... not as graphic as what that new law is saying," said Wray superintendent Ron Howard.
...officials in other school districts think the state should stay out of such a sensitive curriculum issue.
"It bothers us the state is wanting to legislate what is being taught in schools about methods of birth control, about sexually transmitted diseases," said George Welsh, superintendent for Center School District, the only district in the state to accept federal money tied to abstinence-only programs. "Why not trust that we in Center ... can make this decision on that?"
About a third of Colorado school districts teach abstinence-only sex education. It's yet to be seen just how many will skip the sex ed altogether. My guess is the Wray and Center are the first of what will be many more districts that will choose not to educate kids about sexuality than teach them about condoms and emergency contraception.
What's so Orwellian about this new morality-free sex ed is that it takes big decisions on things like sex education out of the hands of parents and local communities and into the hands of liberal bureaucrats. Most Coloradans think sex should be abstained from until marriage and this bill says that popular will doesn't matter.
Republicans tried passing another bill a couple of months ago that would toughen math and science standards for graduation. The Democrats killed it, in essence sending the message that schools can teach whatever they see fit when it comes to math and science but when it comes to condoms, homosexuality, and abortion, it's best left up to the 'grown ups' at the capitol. Let it be clear that when it comes to something as serious as teen sex, morality does matter and parental imput matters. I hope that the people of Colorado throw this back in the liberal legislature's lap as more and more schools opt out of anti-abstinence education.