Carson City sex and health education receives new material, removes outdated material from curriculum
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Thu, 07/27/2023 - 2:05pm
Carson City School Board trustees unanimously approved new material for the district's sex education curriculum during its Tuesday meeting.
Teachers are not forced to teach the material, but the material is made available to them for their choice of instruction.
Parents must opt-in to sexual education courses, and parents can opt-out of specific assignments if they take issue with the content, which will be available for parents prior to student instructions.
The first new material includes a video entitled The Topic is STDs for grades 7 and up. The video is part of the “Making Proud Choices” curriculum taught by Carson City Health and Human Services.
According to the Family Life Committee, the video is short and to-the-point, it does not contain material “too heavy” for young adults, provides an example of how a “difficult situation can be handled positively,” and focuses on abstinence.
The second new material includes a video of animated testicular self-exams, and is for grades 9 and up. Previously, there was material for breast cancer prevention, but not testicular screening, according to staff.
The Family Life Committee noted that the video is “factual without being fear-driven,” fills a gap in materials related to testicular screening, and the video is short and accessible to the age group.
The third new material relates to a reproductive system overview animated video, which was originally approved in 2017 and is for grades 9 and up.
The Family Life Committee said the material is thorough and provides scientific explanation, but noted a concern that the material uses the word “baby” in place of “fetus,” however, instructors could be urged to clarify the correct terminology during instruction.
The fourth new material relates to fertilization, which was also approved of in 2017 and is for grades 9 and up.
The Family Life Committee noted the material is clear and scientific, well-produced, and short, but includes technical terminology outside the scope of the education standards.
The fifth new material relates to human reproduction and childbirth, and was for grades 9 and up and has been previously approved. The committee has opted to make it available for grades 6 and up.
The Family Life Committee said the material is easy to follow, contains diagrams that explain content well, and are clear without being inappropriate for the age group.
Some concerns noted was the age of the video, as it was created in 2009.
The sixth new material relates to the female reproductive system including internal and external organs, and is for grades 6 and up.
The Family Life Committee approved of the variation of images, including black and white images that “allow for representation of diverse populations,” used credible sources, and is an overall useful resource. The committee discussed the age appropriateness of the material at length prior to their recommendation.
The seventh new material also relates to the female reproductive system and is for grades 6 and up.
The Family Life Committee noted the material contained good visuals of both internal and external anatomy, the video creator has a PhD in anatomy and physiology, and the material is easy to follow.
However, they noted some concerns such as the fact that the video uses technical terms without much explanation, which could overwhelm middle school students, but the committee chose to leave to teacher discretion if they would like to teach it to their middle school students.
The eighth new material is titled Always Changing and Growing Up and, while it is new material, it goes along with a previously approved video and is for grades 4-6.
The packet includes a pre-test and post-test, discussion questions, and a letter that can be sent to parents, along with an instructional guide, modules with activities for students, and materials available in Spanish.
Removals
The committee chose to remove two materials that had been previously approved.
The first was titled High Cost of Free Love by Pam Stenzel, which they determined “focuses on fear and shame” and contained outdated information.
The second was titled Medical-Female Reproductive System in 3D, which they found to be confusing, contained only animation with no explanation, and did not hold much instructional value.
All materials are available for viewing in the agenda packet, and are located about a third of the way into the packet.
