The Federal Way Public School Board has voted to extend their sex ed program to include grade 5, thus making it consistent class to class for grades 5-12 instead of allowing schools to choose which parts to present.
The FLASH sexual health education program, created by the Seattle and King County Health Department with funding from various sources, including Planned Parenthood, has spread not only throughout Washington state, but also to 44 other states. The program is known as Comprehensive Sex Education or CSE.
As a teacher, I consider these programs to be sexually explicit in the extreme. Students are asked to respond to questions in high school such as, “What’s one thing I will commit to doing in the next six months that will lower my chances of giving or getting an STD?”
One class warmup includes having students fill in responses to: “When I have sex I will use condoms…” Don’t such questions pre-suppose that all students are sexually active? And if that is not the case, wouldn’t it pressure them to feel that they ought to be?
Furthermore, the programs contain graphic descriptions and instructions regarding the nature of sexual interaction, birth control and gender identity questions, while omitting sufficient information relevant to the potential dangers, injury and risks pertaining to these activities.
The FLASH curriculum can be viewed at the District Office and at specific viewing sessions during the school year. It can also be accessed online at the county’s website. The Public Health centers will serve all under 18 without parental/guardian permission. The teen clinic is very specific: Parental rights are not honored in these documents although parents remain the most important element in the child’s life.
The Federal Way Public Schools’ curriculum committee will decide in August about including gender identity lessons in the curriculum, which are optional. Do our children need to question their gender or can they enjoy their lives and remain children? Parents can opt out of the programs for their children, but if peers are exposed to this information, all children will be affected. Consider the consequences of a study like this as an ongoing part of your child’s life. Wouldn’t you, as parents, prefer to make the choice about what your child will be exposed to?
Teresa Angeles, Renton
