By
Phyllida Burlingame, ACLU of Northern California at 10:25am
California state law mandates that sexual health education in public schools be comprehensive, medically accurate, science-based, and bias-free. So why are Clovis Unified High Schools teaching teens from a book that makes no mention of condoms, even in chapters about HIV/AIDS and on preventing STDs and unintended pregnancy?
Recent events, such as Representative Akin’s ill-informed statements about reproductive biology and rape – put the issue in a stark light. The brand of sex ed that Clovis high schools are peddling is putting teens’ health at risk – it’s dangerous, unlawful, and could have serious consequences if it is not stopped.
California has one of the country's strongest laws ensuring comprehensive sex education. Back in 2003, the legislature put teen health first and passed a law requiring sex education to be comprehensive, science-based and free of bias. California is also the only state that never accepted federal funding under the Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program. A