Home / Dallas News / SBOE gives preliminary approval to teaching middle schoolers about birth control beyond abstinence

SBOE gives preliminary approval to teaching middle schoolers about birth control beyond abstinence

AUSTIN –– Efforts to expand Texas health and sex education standards to include the teaching of birth control measures beyond abstinence in middle and high schools won initial approval Friday from the State Board of Education.

But the push to expand teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation were shot down as the SBOE concluded a week of marathon meetings and hearings.

The debate came as part of the board’s effort to update overall health curriculum standards for the first time in more than 20 years. That overall plan won initial approval in this week’s votes. The debate and a final vote on the standards is set for November.

Supporters of the contraception teaching change consider it a significant achievement because more than 80% of school districts in the state teach abstinence-only or offer no sexual education at all, according to a 2017 study conducted by the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund.

Teaching about birth control measures beyond abstinence in Texas is required only in high school, where health education courses are optional.

What began as a series of over 12-hour meetings and late-night debates ended Friday with one board member calling fellow members’ faith into question as the Republican-dominated SBOE kept the teaching of the differences between sexual orientation and gender identity out of health courses.

That decision came on the heals of Tuesday’s hearing, which featured hours of testimony from dozens of Texans who pressed the board to provide comprehensive sex education to students across the state.

Board member Ruben Cortez made a series of proposals that focused on the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity, and all were rejected. One of his last proposals, which called for everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity to be treated with dignity and respect, was defeated by votes of 9-6.

“I know that a lot of this fear, and a lot of the discomfort and talking about gender identity and gender fluidity, all of that is very much based in religion and ideology. I want to be very respectful of that but what I will say is, as a Christian, I was taught to love and to respect and to honor the people around me,” board member Marissa Perez said.

“I think it’s very hard for me to reconcile how one can call themself a Christian and not see past their own perspective to support and honor and recognize youth who are asking to be seen,” she said

Perez fought back tears as she added, “This isn’t a judgment statement. I am genuinely trying to understand this because I don’t.”

‘A governance decision’

Vice-chair of the board Marty Rowley, a Republican from Amarillo, quickly responded, explaining that his vote against Cortez’ motion wasn’t based on his religious beliefs.

“I try to make my decisions in this room based upon what’s best for the districts that I represent, and the 5.5 million children that are part of Texas public education. I don’t believe it’s irresponsible, I don’t believe it’s reprehensible, I don’t think it’s uncaring, I don’t think it’s unfeeling,” Rowley said.

“I think it is a governance decision that I make that says what’s best for each district is to be determined by that local district. There is a statute, (Texas Education Code) 28.004, that we have to be mindful of whenever we begin to veer off into this area,” he added.

The fear of violating Texas Education Code 28.004, which states that any course material related to human sexuality shall be selected by the board of trustees with the advice of the local school health advisory council, is something that Republican board members brought up throughout the week. It’s also a reason cited by Republican board members in opposing an earlier motion from Cortez proposing that sexual orientation and gender identity be defined and differentiated in seventh and eighth grade sex education standards.

In response to those fears, Perez-Diaz highlighted the fact that the language in the motion was encouraged by the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus.

“I have to say I am glad that the Texas Education Code was brought up because in fact, in our emails right now, I’m staring at a letter that we actually received from legislators — the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus — which is urging us to include this language,” Perez-Diaz said on Thursday night.

“The Texas Education Code is established by the laws that the Legislature passes. If we have legislators who create those laws, I would venture to guess we have some backing in the House,” Perez-Diaz said.

Despite several proposals from Cortez, which drew support from the Democrats on the board — Perez-Diaz, secretary of the board Georgina Perez, Lawrence Allen and Aicha Davis — and occasionally Matt Robinson, a Republican from Friendswood, there wasn’t enough support for approval.

Teaching about consent

Another heavily debated topic revolved around whether or not sixth graders should learn about consent in addition to being taught the importance of setting boundaries and refusal skills.

Ken Mercer, Donna Bahorich and other Republicans on the board pushed for the removal of a standard that would define consent as it relates to physical intimacy and also explain why all physical contact should be consensual.

Bahorich stated that refusal skills and setting boundaries would suffice for sixth graders, noting that girls are taught to be nice and how to say yes but they need to learn how to say no.

Perez responded by highlighting the lack of language that would teach kids how to respect somebody when they are told “no.” The board ultimately agreed that holding off on teaching consent until kids are 17 years old was too late, but they could not agree on what age was suitable.

A vote was taken shortly after, with the passing of the motion to remove the language with 9-5 vote.

Now that the formal vote on the first reading has concluded, the focus now shifts forward to November, where the board will consider the standards on a second reading along with a final adoption as they continue to revise health standards for the first time in over two decades.

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