THOUSAND OAKS : Lawsuit Over Sex Ed Pamphlet Dismissed

A federal judge in Los Angeles has tentatively dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Conejo Valley Unified School District over school board approval of a sex education pamphlet.

The pamphlet, published by a conservative Christian group, promotes sexual abstinence for teen-agers. The lawsuit, filed in April by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of four Thousand Oaks parents, contended that references to God in half of the 20-page pamphlet represented unconstitutional violations of church-state separation.

The dismissal order, signed last month by U.S. District Judge William Matthew Byrne, allows the suit to be reopened before Nov. 14 if settlement has not been reached.

ACLU attorney Carol Sobel said the plaintiffs are satisfied with the school district’s agreement to send notice to all teachers that the pamphlets are for their review only and not for distribution to students.

“We’re satisfied that the pamphlet’s second half is out of the schools,” Sobel said. “The school district is on notice and the school district has apparently taken steps to ensure that the material won’t come back in.”

But Assistant Supt. Richard Simpson said school board members voted to remove the second half of the pamphlet when they approved its use as a teacher’s guide. The pamphlet was never approved for distribution to students, he added.

Teachers are annually notified of approved curriculum materials for family life education, Simpson added. They were notified of the pamphlet and its intended use at the beginning of the school year, he said.

“No concessions have been made” as a result of the lawsuit, Simpson said.