FAQ
Helpful Information
SB 5395 requires Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) be provided in grades K - 12 in all public (including charter) schools.
WHAT IS CSE?
OSPI says, the term “comprehensive” refers to instruction that includes a wide variety of important sexual health topics including development, communication skills, healthcare and prevention resources, healthy relationships, and influences on healthy sexual relationships. In their framework regarding CSE, The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) says, “Our approach includes an emphasis on sexual expression, sexual fulfilment and pleasure. This represents a shift away from methodologies that focus exclusively on the reproductive aspects of adolescent sexuality.” Planned Parenthood repeatedly referred to SB 5395 as “our bill” and paid for ads to promote OSPI’s CSE survey last summer. OSPI’s Sexual Health Education Program Supervisor, Laurie Dils, said at a Planned Parenthood event, that ideally, the focus of CSE should be “healthy relationships, healthy bodies, and pleasure.”
WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CSE?
As you start to understand the global scale of this movement, we recommend you visit the following sites for more information:
StopCSE.org
Protect Child Health Coalition (PCHC)Pornpandemic.org
Family Watch International (Collection of Parental Rights Resources)
Infromed Parents of California--Facebook and Webpage
CAN CSE BE INTEGRATED INTO OTHER SUBJECTS?
The bill states there’s no legislative intent to require CSE be integrated into other subject matters, however it does not forbid it. OSPI’s Sexual Health Education Program Supervisor, Laurie Dils, is on record saying she would like to weave CSE into other subjects, giving the example of Romeo and Juliet being a great opportunity to discuss consent. An amendment to prevent CSE from being integrated into other subjects was rejected.
IS THE CURRICULUM AGE-APPROPRIATE AND MEDICALLY ACCURATE?
Only if you think it’s age-appropriate to tell 5 year-olds that “People with a vulva have three holes between their legs with a very sensitive area at the top called the clitoris;” to tell 4th graders to look up wet dreams and penis size online; suggest to 7th graders that bathing together and mutual masturbation are ways to build intimacy while avoiding STDs, and numerous other examples.
The curricula tells children that a doctor assigns a sex to them at birth; tells kids external condoms are safe for anal sex, even though they aren’t FDA approved for such use; leads students to believe emergency contraception is still effective on day 5; and tells children there are many genders without telling them that the gender dysphoria of a vast majority of children will resolve before they reach adulthood.*
ISN’T IT IMPORTANT TO GIVE KIDS INFORMATION TO KEEP THEMSELVES HEALTHY?
Yes, it’s important for kids to have complete information in the subjects they’re taught, which is why it’s baffling that the most commonly used CSE curriculum in the state provides absolutely no failure rates or risks of any of the birth control methods discussed; tells students that the withdrawal method is free, always available, and works better than you think, while neglecting to disclose the 22% failure rate; and repeatedly mentions oral and anal sex without providing the risks associated with them. Another curriculum has a lesson on sexting, which includes a film that concludes by telling kids, “sexting is here to stay folks,” and that as long as there’s consent, it’s “just another aspect of normal human sexual behavior.” A lesson on pornography gives no information on the risks of porn, despite well-documented evidence of its harm.** An amendment requiring the risks to be included in porn lessons was rejected.
ISN’T K-3 EXEMPT FROM CSE?
That’s what proponents state. Here’s what the bill says: “Comprehensive sexual health education for students in kindergarten through grade three must be instruction in social-emotional learning (SEL) that is consistent with learning standards…” Does that mean teaching CSE through the lens of SEL? If CSE is not to be taught, why is it specified? It would have been very easy to make the CSE requirement grades 4-12. Why didn’t they? An amendment to require parental approval for planned CSE lessons in grades K-4 was rejected.
IS THERE A MANDATED CURRICULUM TO BE USED IN ALL SCHOOLS?
There is not a particular curriculum that must be used. OSPI reviews curricula to determine if it meets their guidelines, which includes what they determine as medically accurate and age appropriate. It must also be inclusive of all protected classes and provide instruction in affirmative consent. These standards would disqualify any sexual risk avoidance curricula, which are more acceptable to most parents. The approved curricula all have the same elements that parents find objectionable, as shown in the examples above. The claim that schools have a choice of curricula is akin to Henry Ford telling his Model-T customers that they can have any color they want, as long as it’s black.
CAN’T SCHOOLS CREATE THEIR OWN CURRICULUM?
Districts can create their own curriculum, however SB5395 is unfunded. This leaves districts without funds to develop a curriculum, which makes the appeal of a free curriculum like The 3 Rs more attractive. And since OSPI will only approve CSE curricula why would a district expend time and resources on a curriculum that won’t be approved?
CAN PARENTS OPT THEIR CHILDREN OUT?
Yes, parents can opt their children out of the classroom instruction. They cannot opt them out of schoolyard discussions and the culture change that takes place at school. Additinally, the bill does not allow parents to opt out of guest speakers. One mom said, “And so my kiddo learned all about that even though he wasn’t in class, because it was discussed outside of class. I was furious.” Students at a Jr. High School in Spokane, where The 3 Rs is taught, were recently found to be playing disturbing sexual “games,” such as Molest Me Mondays.*** Several teen girls from other schools traveled to Olympia to testify against the bill. One girl said, “Sexual comments are common. Boys will even grab girls’ butts at school, including mine.” She added, “And by the way, opting out is not really an option. Anyone who does that get teased and bullied even more.”
During the bill process, amendments where proposed to limit CSE being taught to specific hours of instruction in the school day to ensure parents could fully opt out, to allow students to opt themselves out of class if they were uncomfortable with the material being presented and for teachers to opt out if they were uncomfortable with teaching the material--all of these amendments were rejected.
REFERENCES:
*Curricula examples taken from OSPI approved FLASH and Rights, Respect and Responsibility (The 3Rs).
**https://www.kidsintheknow.ca/pdfs/KIK_ImpactOfViewing_en.pdf