Sex Education Revisions Endorsed : State Board Expected to OK Changes Stressing Abstinence

A state Board of Education committee unanimously endorsed Tuesday a revised policy on sex education that encourages abstinence among school-age children and recommends the teaching of sexual behavior and family life in a “broader ethical and moral context.”

But in a decision that reflected its continuing difficulty in reaching a consensus on how to deal with some of the touchier aspects of sex education in public schools, the panel voted unanimously against making specific recommendations at this time on how to teach about such controversial topics as acquired immune deficiency syndrome and homosexuality.

Instead, the state board’s Master Plan Committee referred these issues for further study to a new subcommittee, whose members are expected to be named at today’s board meeting.

The broad policy statement was approved in principle by the Master Plan Committee and is likely to be approved by the full board at its meeting this morning in Long Beach.

Not Comfortable

“I think the board is not yet comfortable with the present guidelines, and I think the board is representative of California as a whole,” said Perry Dyke, a Redlands pediatrician and president of the state board.

The guidelines were sent back for revisions last year before they were even implemented because the board believed that they needed, in the words of one state education official, “more emphasis on abstinence and monogamy.”

Before Tuesday’s meeting at California State University, Long Beach, about a dozen representatives of several local groups who oppose the state’s proposed guidelines held a peaceful demonstration outside the meeting room. One carried a sign that read, “Teach Decency, Not Safe Sex, for Elementary Kids.”

The curriculum guidelines that will be revised were drafted by a 14-person committee appointed by state schools Supt. Bill Honig. The committee included a rabbi and a nun. The state last issued curriculum guidelines for sex and family life education in 1972.

The revised guidelines, which will be submitted to the board at a later date, are only advisory to individual school districts. Under state law, parents have the right to examine any teaching materials proposed for such courses. They may also request that their children be excused from such instruction.

Relevant Issues

Amanda Dew Mellinger, who heads the Education Department’s health, nutrition and physical education programs, said she is confident that the revised guidelines will address all the relevant issues, including abortion, homosexuality and premarital sex.

She said she is also confident that the final guidelines will allay any public fears about the content of sex education courses in the California public schools.

“People thought we were going to be teaching techniques of homosexuality,” Mellinger said. “That’s absolutely not true. We don’t even teach techniques of heterosexuality.”