Can parents opt their children out of abstinence only sex education curriculum?

[bluestateguy]

Obviously, it will vary state to state, but I see this as a good way to combat the abstinence only foolishness that is pervading our schools: just encourage parents (or really politically engaged 16-17 year olds) to opt out and not participate.

Maybe some of you who are parents have some experience with this.

By the way, I am not against abstinence being a part of sex ed curriculum, only "the na-na-na-na I can't hear you!" attitude about sex and the junk science about condoms not working.

[dsc]

1. I don't see what good that would do

you would merely be preventing them from hearing about abstinence, it isn't like they would be taught real sex ed in those states. On edit I could see if you thought your kid might be gay that keeping them out of an anti gay sex ed class even if they just sat and did nothing for that time would be preferable.

[jmowreader]

8. That's not the issue here

Abstinence-only "sex education" classes tend to spend a very large amount of time giving out erroneous information on birth control failure rates and the reliability of condoms--basically, to try to scare the kids out of having sex.

It takes about five minutes to tell kids the truth about abstinence: if you practice it, you will not have to worry about pregnancy, STDs and sexually-transmitted HIV. (They also need to be told that if they don't do intravenous drugs or get tattoos with dirty needles they'll cut out almost all the ways to catch HIV and hepatitis.) And those are good things to know.

Being told that there's no way to keep from getting pregnant without practicing abstinence because condoms break 90 percent of the time (properly stored and used within their lifespan, condoms in real life rarely break--I've used probably a thousand of them and broke exactly one, and that one was probably expired) and birth control fails 85 percent of the time, or whatever the numbers they use are, is NOT a good thing.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

2. I would think so

I believe that in many, if not most, jurisdictions, parents can opt their children out of real sex education, so they should be able to do the opposite as well.

***edited to add: I'm speaking only about public schools - private schools can do whatever they want. My daughters went to Catholic schools, and we could not opt them out of the sex education classes.

[kenny blankenship]

3. Just cite your "religious objections" to it

that usually works for anything.

[knitter4democracy]

4. That's the only one allowed anymore, and yes, parents can.

Some do, usually because they don't want their kids even knowing about their own bodies, as that's covered in sex ed, too.

[HopeHoops]

5. I would. That's just stupid.

Yeah, I'd fight the school board on that one.

[musical_soul]

6. Problem....

Whether it's comprehensive sex education or this abstinence only until you get married and magically can't get pregnant anymore junk, it's always considered "weird" for a kid to be out of the loop. Instead of forbidding it, educate your own children. Let them know that while abstinence is the best way to go (because it's 100% accurate), that other forms of birth control do work at a high percentage rate. Don't pull your kids out for politics sake. You don't want your kids to get turned off your politics by having them stick out in the school crowd.

[CK_John]

7. No, the schools will not be public anymore. School acceptance of the dogma of the Charter school

will be mandatory. This model is at work in Louisiana state wide.

[lynne]

9. Don't know. And don't know that it matters -

- as I would never trust any school to be the only voice my child hears on sex ed. The schools can teach what they wish but my children heard my version first and heard it repeatedly. And still do.