Wisconsin: Schools Try to Balance Morals, Sex Education

A survey of Milwaukee-area school districts found that several are not defining oral sex to middle-school students or explaining it is illegal for minors and can lead to STDs.

According to Detective Sgt. Jeff Vahsholtz of the Cedarburg police, some youths may choose to have oral sex because they think it is safer than intercourse in terms of avoiding pregnancy and STDs. They may also think consensual sex is not illegal, Vahsholtz said. In fact, it is illegal for minors to have any sexual contact.

There is no state-mandated sex education curriculum: School districts can decide how much they want to teach about human growth and development. Materials must be made available to parents, who can opt their children out of instruction, and districts that provide instruction must have it reviewed every three years by a committee of parents, teachers, clergy, and others.

Some parents in the Elmbrook School District objected to sixth- and seventh-graders being taught the legal definition and ramifications of various sexual behaviors, including oral sex.

The lessons the school board shelved included a one-page sheet for sixth-graders defining sexual contact as sexual harassment, inappropriate touching, touching genitals, oral sex, and sexual intercourse, with brief descriptions of each. The sheet asked students to report any inappropriate touching and said abstinence from all sexual contact was the safest and healthiest option. Seventh-graders would have been informed about five STDs including HIV/AIDS, told that sex -- including oral sex -- was illegal, and "the surest way to avoid [STDs] is not to have sex at all."

Back to other news for September 2007