California: Citing Bias, Parent Files Complaint Over Sex Education Program

A Concord, Calif. mother has called for the end of a sex education program promoting abstinence, saying it gives students biased and graphic information about abortions. Renee Walker wrote a letter of complaint to the Mt. Diablo district and the state superintendent after discovering the eight-day CryBabies curriculum at her son's school is presented by First Resort, an organization that runs Christian pregnancy counseling centers and whose founder, Shari Plunkett, has been quoted as saying the group seeks to reduce the number of abortions in the Bay Area. Defenders point out that CryBabies deters teen sex by showing how it feels to be a parent. Students are required to take care of an electronic doll that cries periodically. After attending the sessions, students can voluntarily sign a pledge to remain abstinent until marriage.

Deborah Morris, program director, said CryBabies instructors, in order to comply with state education laws, provide unbiased and factual information about the consequences of sexual activity and students' options should they become pregnant. The message is that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and STDs. "Our goal is to provide students with accurate information to make healthy choices," she said. "There is no hidden agenda."

Walker believes the course does not give sufficient information on how to prevent pregnancy or STDs. "My expectation is that education is going to be based on educationally sound, research-based, age-appropriate information," she said. "I don't expect a political agenda in school."

CryBabies is supplemental to the regular seventh-grade family life science curriculum, which gives students more in-depth information about contraceptives and preventing STDs. Parents must sign permission slips for children to attend, and they can review the curriculum in advance. The program is largely paid for by a grant from the Contra Costa County Office of Education.

"I think where they come from impacts what kind of sex ed they teach," said Phyllida Burlingame, a consultant on sex education issues for the American Civil Liberties Union. She said the messages might not come through in printed materials but in what instructors say in the classroom.

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