While the Gwinnett County school board agreed to take more time to select a sex education program, Thursday’s meeting indicated the process of establishing a sex education curriculum program in Georgia’s largest district will continue to be contentious.
Another wave of people spoke Thursday against the proposed change from Choosing the Best, the resource used for 22 years that many believe teaches a strong lesson about abstinence. District officials who have promoted a shift to HealthSmart say the sex ed component is more inclusive and has better information while still promoting abstinence.
The board didn’t take any action to move closer to a final decision — despite absorbing lots of criticism over a proposal that they haven’t ever voted on — but comments at the meeting made it clearer where members’ opinions fall.
Here are some key points in the debate:
Lessons on gender
Many critics of HealthSmart have said information about gender identity should not be in classroom lessons.
Tasha Guadalupe, Gwinnett’s director of health and physical education, said the resource is customizable, so the district could choose not to include certain lessons. However, she also said it was important for the curriculum to be inclusive and representative of identities of students, staff and others in the district.
Guadalupe noted the elementary school resource defines gender identity with the main focus on respecting differences in others.
Board Vice Chair Steve Knudsen said he doesn’t think it’s that simple: “Respect is one thing. Gender identity is something else.” He questioned why that lesson would be added if it’s not explicitly required or recommended in local or state standards.
Input from State School Superintendent Richard Woods
Board member Mary Kay Murphy read extensively from two letters Woods wrote to Gwinnett’s school board and superintendent, questioning the proposal to adopt HealthSmart. Woods said Choosing the Best, Gwinnett’s current resource, better aligned to state standards and advised restarting the selection process.
Murphy said it was important to heed his advice.
Board member Karen Watkins agreed public feedback is important but mentioned “local control” and said, “As a board member, I did feel a bit of overreach” from Woods’ letter.
Beyond state standards
Woods has pointed out HealthSmart goes beyond state standards and said it’s important to adhere to them, particularly for elementary school. Knudsen said he’s most comfortable with teaching up to requirements for sex education on all grade levels and letting parents cover topics outside of that.
Guadalupe said the district frequently goes beyond standards. She gave the example of fifth grade sex education, in which students have learned about puberty and anatomy. (Choosing the Best doesn’t cover fifth grade.) The state guidelines only require teaching about sexual abuse and assault awareness.
Value of the survey
Critics of HealthSmart — including Knudsen, Murphy and Woods — have pointed to community surveys as evidence for considering a different resource. More than 90% of 1,800 total responses advised against using HealthSmart.
Watkins said the people most likely to take a survey are those who take issue with the subject. “Who responded to (the survey)?” she asked. “If it isn’t a representative population of Gwinnett, ... is it the response we make an overhaul on?”
Knudsen said the survey was available to the public on the district website and shouldn’t be dismissed. He said the emails and other feedback he’s received were nearly all critical as well.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained the survey results in an open records request.
About 42% of survey participants self-identified as Gwinnett residents as opposed to someone with a current connection to the district, such as a parent, student or school employee. People who identified themselves as parents accounted for just over 50%. The survey had no way to ensure participants live in the county or to prevent taking the survey multiple times.
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