CONEJO VALLEY : Board to Review Safe Sex Pamphlet

The Conejo Valley Unified School District board tonight will review a pamphlet promoting sexual abstinence that was submitted by opponents of a similar but controversial booklet approved in February.

If approved, the pamphlet, entitled “HIV & Abstinence,” would be available for teachers to use as a supplement to abstinence-related course work in the sex education curriculum, officials said.

The five-page foldup brochure discusses ways that the AIDS virus is spread and encourages abstinence as the best protection.

“Condoms break. People get careless. Mistakes happen,” the pamphlet states.

It discusses ways other than sex for couples to be close, how to talk with a partner about sex and abstinence, and techniques for sticking with a decision to abstain.

The American Civil Liberties Union and four parents filed suit against the board last week for approving a pamphlet, “How to Help Your Kids Say ‘No’ to Sex,” published by a conservative Christian group and containing religious references in the bibliography.

The board did not approve the bibliography for use in the schools. Opponents have said they do not believe the pamphlet is appropriate in any form, but the lawsuit would be dropped if the district ensures that the bibliography is not distributed.

At the February meeting when the controversial pamphlet was approved, some opponents submitted six pamphlets as alternatives.

The 13-member Family Life Materials Review Committee, which recommends sexual education materials for approval by the board, so far has considered three and recommended one. The rest will be reviewed at the committee’s meeting in May.