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Press Release - March 19, 2005
CITIZENS FOR A RESPONSIBLE CURRICULUM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Steve Fisher (301-661-5511)
MONTGOMERY COUNTY SEX ED PUBLIC MEETING DRAWS HUNDREDS
ROCKVILLE (MD) -- Hundreds of parents turned out on a sunny Saturday morning to listen to speakers and each other debate the merits of the new sex ed curriculum approved for implementation next Fall. The meeting was organized by Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, a grassroots organization of parents opposed to the changes.
Parents attending the meeting seemed surprised at the graphic nature of the condom video already approved for 10th graders next year and which made its public debut at the meeting. The 7-minute video, instructing viewers on the proper application of a condom, with a cucumber as a stand-in, appears to have struck a nerve with parents who claim it pushes kids to become sexually active. Latania Wilkerson who has two children in Montgomery County Public Schools commented “I am shocked and appalled at what I’ve seen here and the percent of abstinence to condom promotion is so out of whack.”
The script includes 7 “abstinence” mentions as opposed to 44 “condom” or “condoms.” Gasps were heard when the young woman in the video advised viewers “Remember to use a condom for oral, anal, and vaginal sex.” Michelle Turner, the head of the group, had previously quoted the Surgeon General’s warning on condom use for anal sex: “Condoms provide some protection, but anal intercourse is simply too dangerous to practice,” she added “how could the school system tell kids that condoms will protect them, when the Surgeon General is issuing a warning for this use?”
Dr. Ruth Jacobs, an infectious disease specialist, tearfully told the audience of how she had to tell a 16 year old boy that he was HIV positive. “His first words after I informed him of the diagnosis was ‘But I used a condom 100% of the time!’,” she said, “This video will just send me more business.”
Dr. Fred Gage, a researcher in resuscitative medicine, claims the school board ignored warnings of the risk of hepatitis C, while focusing in on HIV. “There is no mention of hepatitis C which is a deadly sexually transmitted disease. It is a killer.”
One of the speakers, Maren Fuller, American Young Mother of the Year Representative for Maryland and mother of 6, received a standing ovation when she asked the assembled crowd: “Do you want to put our parents in a situation where they feel they cannot in good consciousness send their kids to public school?”
Parents peppered the panel of speakers with questions about opting their children out of the program and what steps they could take to roll the curriculum back.
Two members of the Citizens Advisory Committee, the body which advised the school board to adopt the curriculum, attended the meeting. Karen Troccoli and David Fishback, both voted for the curriculum and spoke in its favor.
“The meeting exceeded our expectations,” according to Michelle Turner, the head of CRC. “We didn’t know quite what to expect this Saturday morning.” Her concern is that most parents in Montgomery County don’t have any idea that this curriculum is about to be launched next fall. As part of the new program, students in the 8th and 10th grades will be encouraged to explore and express their “sexual identity,” they will learn that “same sex parents” are included in the definition of family, they will learn that sexual variations include heterosexuals, homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals,
and transgenders. The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines transgenderism as a “gender identity disorder.” Another flashpoint is the curriculum’s advocation of the notion that “sex play with friends of the same gender is not uncommon during early adolescence.”
When asked about future plans, Mrs. Turner, said the success of the Town Hall Meeting means that parents are interested in the issue. CRC plans to have additional forums and ad campaigns, she added.
B. S. Gill, head of security at Johns Hopkins University’s Rockville Campus, where the meeting was held, estimated the crowd at between 270-280 people.
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