National Battle over Sex Education Waged in Suburban Maryland County
Background. Since 2004, major national Christian right groups have been fighting to control the sex education curriculum of the Montogmery County, Maryland school district in suburban Washington, DC. Especially at issue were the topics of contraception and homosexuality. A judge's order necessitated a redrafting of the curriculum. When it was approved and rolled out in early 2007, the groups redoubled their protests against it.
Court Order Against Sex-Ed Lessons Sought
Daniel de Vise, The Washington Post, September 5, 2007
Three groups seeking to halt the new sex education curriculum in Montgomery County schools filed papers yesterday seeking a court order to prevent the school system from teaching the lessons this fall.
The groups requested a stay in Montgomery Circuit Court so that the lessons, the school system's first foray into sexual orientation as a classroom topic, will not be taught countywide. Absent court intervention, eighth- and 10th-grade health teachers will embark on the new lessons starting in October, said Michelle Turner, a spokeswoman for lead opposition group Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum. Continue.
Lessons on Homosexuality Move Into the Classroom
Diana Jean Schemo, The New York Times, August 15, 2007
After five years, one legal defeat and a challenge on the way, Montgomery County, Md., is at the frontier of sex education in the United States. This fall, barring last-minute court action, the county will offer lessons on homosexuality in its 8th- and 10th-grade health education courses.
To school officials, the lessons are a natural outgrowth of sex education and of teachings on tolerance and diversity. They consist of two heavily scripted, 45-minute lessons for each grade and a video demonstrating how to put on a condom. The lessons’ central message is respect and acceptance of the many permutations of sexual identity, both in others and in one’s self.
School officials said they were not seeking to promote a political agenda, beyond tolerance and a kind of cultural literacy. “Our charge starts with educating students,” said Betsy Brown, who supervised the curriculum’s development in consultation with the American Academy of Pediatrics. “This is part of education.” Continue.
Sex-ed critics consider suing school system
State board approves revised curriculum; county board wants to move on
by Marcus Moore, Gazette Newspapers (Maryland community newspapers), July 11, 2007
Now that the Maryland State Board of Education has declined to discard Montgomery County’s sex education curriculum, critics of the controversial lesson plans are considering a federal lawsuit to have the classes tossed before the school year starts. Continue.
"Ex-gays" critical of Maryland sex ed curriculum
Advocate.com, June 15, 2007
In response to a Montgomery County, Md., school board's approval of a new sex education curriculum for public schools that advocates a biological basis for sexual orientation, "reparative therapy" group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays issued a statement criticizing the decision.
"According to the American Psychiatric Association, there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological cause for homosexuality," PFOX declared on its Web site. "But now the Montgomery County Board of Education has done what science and medicine could not do by declaring in its newly approved curriculum that homosexuality is 'innate' or inborn."
PFOX argues that the school board has promoted intolerance of "ex-gays," citing various incidents where the schools' gay-straight alliances were allowed to place trash cans on campus for people to throw away PFOX fliers. Continue.
 Montgomery County, Md. School Board finds "gay gene"
Violates State Board of Education's Order
Parents and Friends of ExGays and Gays (PFOX)
Rockville, Maryland - PFOX released this statement in response to the Montgomery County School Board's approval of a new sex education curriculum for public schools:
"According to the American Psychiatric Association, there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological cause for homosexuality. But now the Montgomery County Board of Education has done what science and medicine could not do by declaring in its newly approved curriculum that homosexuality is "innate" or inborn. The board could not produce any factual evidence for what it will now teach students -- only political "pledges" and payoffs for last year's school board elections as claimed by gay rights activists. Continue.
More Than 9 in 10 Attend Sex-Ed Pilot Program
Daniel de Vise, Washington Post, April 8, 2007
Four percent of students opted out of a closely watched sex-education pilot program at six Montgomery County middle and high schools, the critical field test of a new curriculum that has put the school system at the center of a national debate on whether homosexuality should be taught in the classroom.
In total, 901 teens were offered the lessons over four weeks in health classes at Argyle, Julius West and Westland middle schools and Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Sherwood and Watkins Mill high schools.
The lessons, approved in January by the county school board, polarized the comparatively liberal Montgomery parent community. But with the launch of the pilot last month, attention shifted from the curriculum itself to whether large numbers of students would exercise their right to opt out. Continue.
Most students present for sex-ed class
By Kristen Chick, The Washington Times, March 27, 2007
Roughly 10 percent of Montgomery County students did not attend the school system's new sex-education classes that include lessons on homosexuality and condom use, the Washington Times reports. The paper also says that the Christian right group, Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum "sent letters and automated-phone calls to parents urging them not to allow their children to attend the classes." Click here.
The Birds vs. the Bees
Opposing groups react to Montgomery County's sex-ed pilot program
by Yusef Najafi, MetroWeekly (Washington, DC), March 15, 2007
Parents representing Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum (CRC) generated buzz last week by protesting against Montgomery County's sex-ed pilot program with signs that read ''Health Before Politics'' outside public schools.
But they weren't able to derail the eighth and tenth grade curriculum. Instead, the county's plans to introduce the program continued last week with its introduction in six more schools, with plans for five more to be added by the end of March. Continue.
Local groups again challenge Montgomery’s sex ed curriculum
Montgomery County schools created lessons to teach tolerance in regards to sexual orientation, which Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum is attempting to block from being field-tested in schools.
Dena Levitz, The Examiner (Washington DC area free paper), February 8, 2007
Montgomery County - Several local groups who previously sued Montgomery County Public Schools over its sex education curriculum are again trying to keep lessons on homosexuality out of the classrooms.
In an appeal filed Wednesday, Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, and the Family Leader Network jointly asked the Maryland State Board of Education to reverse the county Board of Education’s approval of the new curriculum.
At issue are two, 45-minute lessons for eighth- and 10th-graders that are designed to teach tolerance when it comes to sexual orientation. School administrators are working on alternate lessons for those students whose parents don’t want them to be included. Continue.
Board of Education Approves New Sex-Ed Curriculum
By Daniel de Vise, Washington Post, January 10, 2007
The Montgomery County Board of Education approved new sex-education lessons yesterday for the eighth and 10th grades that teach what it means to be homosexual but say little about how people become gay, resisting pressure from a divided community to define homosexuality as nature or nurture, right or wrong. Continue.
You can read the agenda item, including the lesson materials, here (a large PDF file). You can view the meeting here.
Sex-ed changes get unanimous approval
Curriculum still omits criticism of condoms and homosexuality, opponents say, but supporters praise revisions
by Marcus Moore and Sean R. Sedam, Gazette newspapers, January 10, 2007
With a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Montgomery County school board approved a revised sex education curriculum, which includes a controversial 7-minute video on condom usage and lessons on sexual orientation.
The curriculum will be piloted this spring in three yet-to-be-determined middle and high schools. The school system will allow parents to preview the materials, and parents must sign a permission form allowing their children to participate in the lessons.
Some advocates have praised the changes, but others say the revised video and lesson plans are still a little too raunchy for middle and high school students.
Ruth M. Jacobs, an infectious disease physician in Rockville and a member of Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, suggested that the curriculum was more about board politics, and less about students. ‘‘It is wrong to use the lives of our children as political footballs,” she said, using a football and American flag to illustrate her point during Tuesday’s board meeting in Rockville. Continue.
Presentation to the Montgomery County Board of Education
by David S. Fishback, Board Member, Metro D.C. Chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), January 9, 2007
The Staff's proposal for health curriculum on sexual orientation contains very good material. Absent, however, from its proposal is simple information on the most important question facing children who happen to be gay or lesbian: "If I am homosexual, does that mean there is something wrong with me?"
All mainstream medical and mental health groups have made it clear that "homosexuality is not an illness, mental disorder or other emotional problem." Continue.
Ex-Gays Threaten New Curriculum At Embattled Md. School System
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff, January 10, 2007
(Rockville, Maryland) The Montgomery County school board has approved a new sex education curriculum to replace one thrown out by the courts when an ex-gay group complained.
Now the same group says may return to court over the new course approved this week for grades eight through ten.
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays filed suit last year accused the school district of "denigrating" so-called former gays in the materials to be used in the original course. Continue.
 Curriculum ignores ex-gays
Letter to Gazette.net, January 17, 2007 from Regina Griggs, Fort Belvoir, Va. (The writer is affiliated with Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays. The letter is here.)
Montgomery County’s new sex education lessons are entitled ‘‘Respect for Differences in Human Sexuality” and promote acceptance for homosexuals, transgenders and the intersexed. Yet the only sexual orientation in the school system that receives no respect are ex-gays.
The lessons also teach children about bisexuals, lesbians, ‘‘coming out” for gays, ‘‘gender identity,” ‘‘homophobia,” and intersexual, but nothing about the ex-gay community.
As one of the organizations serving on the curriculum committee, we requested the school board to include former homosexuals, but they refused. Evidently, the new curriculum favors homosexuals and cross-dressers over ex-gays.
January 9, 2007: Montgomery County Board of Education to Consider Revised Sex-Ed Curriculum
On Tuesday January 9th at 11:15 AM, Eastern time, the Montgomery County, Maryland, Board of Education will consider a citizen advisory panel's recommended curriculum for 8th and 10th grade sex education.
You can read the agenda item, including the lesson materials, here (a large PDF file).
Sex-Ed Plan Could Revive Heated Debate From 2005
By Daniel de Vise, The Washington Post, January 5, 2007
Montgomery County school officials previewed new middle and high school lesson plans yesterday on sexual orientation and condom use, topics that could refuel the debate on how much the county's teenagers need to know about homosexuality and premarital sex.
The lessons -- which have come under more dispute than any other piece of the county schools curriculum -- represent an attempt at compromise among the school system and polarized community groups that have fought bitterly about the merits of taking lessons on sexuality beyond heterosexuality.
In spring 2005, a federal judge halted the school system's sex education lessons, noting that they seemed to offer only one perspective on homosexuality and to dismiss religions that consider it a sin. Continue.
2006
Sex education teachings a hot debate
by Dena Levitz, The Examiner (Washington, DC) November 20, 2006
Montgomery County - How to teach high schoolers about sexual orientation is at the center of a sizzling debate in the Montgomery County public school system.
On one side is a small but very loud contingent of conservative voices screaming that ex-gays should be studied and that the topic of bisexuality be left off the table.
But a far larger group of parents and community members are defending the proposed lessons as crucial talking points that teach high schoolers about tolerance and acceptance.
Last week a special committee, assembled to look over the proposed sex education curriculum, gave its approval to the eighth and 10th grade lesson plans. Now the superintendent and school board will take their turns looking over, not only the committee’s recommendations, but opposing groups’ suggestions. Continue.
Ex-Gay, Sex-Ed Debate
By Daniel de Vise, The Washington Post, November 16, 2006
This is an excerpt from a report entitled, "Racial Slur Spurs Student to Seek Change in Curriculum"
The battle over sex education in Montgomery has returned to a familiar theme, presented Tuesday in testimony to the school board: If new lessons on sexual orientation are to be fair and balanced, they should include discussion of ex-gays.
A citizens committee is reviewing proposed eighth- and 10th-grade lessons that address sexual orientation for the first time in the county schools. The speakers said the committee has taken pains to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the lessons but has avoided the topic of ex-gays.
Last year, a community group called Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum led a campaign to overturn the county's sex education curriculum, which a federal judge found might discriminate against some faiths that are intolerant of homosexuality. Continue.
Flier About 'Ex-Gays' Ignites Firestorm At School
NBC4 Broadcasting, November 11, 2006
SILVER SPRING, Md. -- A flier from a group called Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, or PFOX, has started a controversy in Silver Spring.
The flier was handed out during homeroom to students at Montgomery Blair High School.
News4's Miguel Almaguer reported that gay students at the high school said the group behind it is homophobic.
The school said it had no choice but to pass it out. Continue.
Informational Material and Announcements Process (Flyer Distribution) Please click here for the Montgomery County policy on flyer distribution.
Sex ed curriculum opponents weigh in on Montgomery election
Groups warn that religious freedom is at stake in the nonpartisan school board election
by Sean R. Sedam, Gazette.net (Maryland Community Newspapers), November 7, 2006
Two groups that filed a federal lawsuit that led the Montgomery County school system to reconsider sex education lessons on homosexuality and condoms are urging residents to make their vote count on Tuesday or risk losing their religious freedom.
Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays sent e-mails on Monday urging voters to defeat liberal candidates for the nonpartisan county school board. Continue.
Note: all of the "liberal" candidates won, with large majorities.
See also: Opposition to health curriculum continues, letters to editor in the November 15th issue of the Gazette. Click here.
School system slowly revising health and sex education curriculum
By Guy Leonard, The Gazette (Maryland local news), March 9, 2006
Prince George's County, adjacent to Montgomery County, has had a comprehensive sex education curriculum for years. High school students learn about homosexuality. However, as it updates the curriculum, it is keeping in mind how right-wing activists have tied up Montgomery's revisions and including a range of constituency groups in the process. Click here for the report.
2005
"Sex Ed is a Mitzvah!" program hosted by Maryland synagogue
Focus on Jewish values and the fundamentalist Christian effort to control sex education in local school district
By JewsOnFirst, December 2005
As the religious right wages a nationally watched struggle against their local school district's sex education curriculum, concerned citizens and congregations members attended a December 4, 2005 program about sex education at Temple Shalom in Bethesda.  They heard from leaders in the effort to secure comprehensive sex education and learned about Jewish values regarding sex education from Rabbi Michael Feshbach, Temple Shalom's senior rabbi. In that Reform congregation, said Feshbach, they endeavor to "teach our children and adults to be serious, liberal, modern, religious Jews." Where sex education is concerned, he said, they combine traditional and modern values and "build a bridge between sexuality and theology." Click here for the report.
Maryland County Wrangles Over Health Class Curriculum
By Barbara Bradley Hagerty, All Things Considered, May 5, 2005
This archived audio report (there's a "listen" link on the NPR page) looks at the effort to stop the Montogomery County, Maryland school system from teaching teens how to avoid unsafe sexual activity by a group of religious parents represented by a legal team linked to Rev. Jerry Falwell. The report also interviews parents who belong to a group supporting the curriculum, TeachTheFacts.org, whose website indicates that the fundamentalist parents also attacked the curriculum's recognition "that sexual orientation is not a choice, and that homosexuality is not a disease."
Click here for the report on the struggle in Montgomery County.
The report is part of the NPR series, "Christianity and the Public Square."
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