Parents Want Celibacy as Sole AIDS Lesson

Angry parents who say sexual abstinence should be the sole method of AIDS prevention taught to their children are challenging plans by the Los Angeles school district to revamp AIDS education.

During a public hearing Monday, the parents voiced opposition to discussions of safe sex or graphic descriptions of how the AIDS virus is transmitted. The parents also complained that they are not adequately represented on a task force that is charged with evaluating the curriculum and recommending changes.

Rachel Martinez of Pacoima, whose 13 grandchildren attend district schools, said she was unaware until several weeks ago about some of the more explicit sexual descriptions used to teach children about AIDS. The district should stop treating parents like “a bunch of dummies” and leave sex education to parental discretion, she said.

The task force, composed of parents, district administrators, medical experts, health teachers, members of the gay community and others, is sifting through mountains of information and is expected to make its recommendation to the school board by January.

Alfred S. Moore, an assistant school superintendent and coordinator of the task force, responded to the complaints by stressing that his group is collecting information from a “full spectrum of divergent views” and has reached no conclusions. Moore said abstinence is already stressed in the existing curriculum.

AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases have been discussed in health classes since 1986, when the district developed a model program that has been adopted by other school systems, said Ruth Rich, the district’s instructional specialist for health education.

Students must obtain signed letters of parental consent before attending classes in which they are taught how AIDS is transmitted and ways to prevent infection. In addition, condoms are available to high school students at three on-site health clinics run by the district, Erlich said.

Some of those at the hearing criticized the district for including the gay community on its task force.

“Going to the gay and lesbian community and asking for input about sex education is like going to a bar and asking a drunk how to stop drinking; it’s totally irresponsible,” said Fabian Asensio, a citizen member of the task force from Sherman Oaks. He urged that the district teach students to remain celibate until marriage.

Another member of the task force defended the teaching of safe sex and AIDS prevention. “We’re not saying, ‘Kids go out and have sex,’ ” she said.

“Abstinence . . . is always desired. (But) there’s also the reality that not all kids will follow that. Therefore . . . you try to give them some guidelines.”