Prop 8 and Schools

There is a tremendous hue and cry (was that enough of a nudge for my scholarly religious friends?) around what Prop 8 means for schools in California. My purpose is to present the truth and let people decide for themselves.

1 – Public schools in California are not required to teach anything about marriage.

2 – 96 percent of California public schools teach a Health and Sex Ed Curriculum, which is my understanding is required under law (but I cannot find that online yet from the State, I am still looking).

3 – If a public school teaches Health and Sex Ed, they are required to teach the following (the full excerpt and links are below, I added the italics):

“Instruction shall be appropriate for students of all genders, sexual orientations, and ethnic and cultural backgrounds…Instruction shall encourage communication between students and their families and shall teach respect for marriage and committed relationships.

4 – This means that schools that teach Heath and Sex Ed will now be required to teach that Gay Marriage is the same as Marriage between a Man and a Woman.

That’s my logic, I would like to hear yours.

Full text is from http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/sexeducation.asp

Comprehensive Sexual Health Education
Provides information concerning authorized comprehensive sexual health education.
Education Code (EC) 51933 (Outside Source) specifies that school districts are not required to provide comprehensive sexual health education, but if they choose to do so, they shall comply with all of the requirements listed below.

Comprehensive sexual health education instruction shall be age-appropriate and bias-free, and all factual information shall be medically accurate and objective. Instruction shall be appropriate for students of all genders, sexual orientations, and ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and it shall be accessible for English language learner students and students with disabilities. Instruction shall encourage communication between students and their families and shall teach respect for marriage and committed relationships.

In addition, in grades seven to twelve, instruction shall include all of the following: information about the value of abstinence; information about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including all Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved methods of reducing the risk of contracting STDs; information about all FDA-approved methods of contraception, including emergency contraception; information about California’s newborn abandonment law (Safe Surrender Law EC 51933 [12]) (Outside Source) and Penal Code 271.5 (Outside Source) and skills for making responsible decisions about sexuality.