SIMI VALLEY : Details Offered on Sex Education Plan

Simi Valley residents on Monday night got their first chance to hear details of a controversial plan to add birth control information to sex education curriculum in city schools.

The first of two evening information-only meetings was held at Sequoia Junior High School to give residents the chance to ask questions about the sex education recommendations issued in December by a committee that studied the issue over three months.

Kathy Burke, a parent and registered nurse, asked committee members if they reviewed studies showing that sex education decreases teen-age pregnancies. Burke said she is aware of studies that only show an increase in teen-age sexual activity.

“There are studies on both sides of the issue,” said Leslie Crunelle, director of secondary education who lead the committee.

Committee member Marge Chamberlain added, “We looked at the needs of the students, not the studies.”

Hundreds of community members on both sides of the debate had an opportunity to voice their opinions to board members of the Simi Valley Unified School District on Dec. 14 when the committee’s report first was issued.

On Feb. 22, the school board will again listen to public testimony before voting on the proposal to add birth control information to the curriculum in seventh and 10th grades.

In addition to adding birth control information, the committee recommended expanding lessons on overcoming peer pressure to have sex and practicing abstinence to avoid disease and pregnancy.

The second informational meeting is set for Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Berylwood Elementary School. Officials stressed that the Jan. 20 meeting is designed to inform the community about the proposal and is not set up to take public views.