Teacher on leave over sex ed demonstration

More than 1,700 people and counting have signed a petition asking for the reinstatement of a teacher reportedly suspended for allowing a student to demonstrate safe sex practices using fruit and condoms.

According to a petition created on www.change.org, teacher Sheree Ferguson was placed on leave from Starkville High School after a student gave a career presentation on becoming a sexologist.

Calls to the Starkville Oktibbeha School District were not returned Wednesday.

Attempts to reach Ferguson were unsuccessful as well.

The creator of the petition, listed only as the Napier-Sinclair Family Mississippi, claims the student is their niece. The student is not named in the petition.

According to the petition, the female student gave a "career talk" on sexology for Ferguson's honors English class at Starkville High School. During the presentation, and noting Mississippi's high teenage pregnancy rate, the student demonstrated how to practice safe sex by using a condom and a cucumber. The student asked her friend to record the demonstration and then posted it on Facebook.

Monday, Ferguson was reportedly placed on leave.

Under Mississippi law, House Bill 999, demonstration of how to use a condom is not allowed.

Passed into law in 2012, the law only references condom demonstration in the confines of a sexual education course.

The petition is asking the district's superintendent, Lewis Holloway, to reconsider Ferguson's alleged punishment.

"We feel that the district's administration is vastly overreacting to this situation, and we are not sure of what our recourse is," the petition stated. "We want to help Mrs. Ferguson — a single mother — to retain her employment. We never foresaw that our niece presenting on sexology could possibly cost a teacher her job!"

Holloway could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Contact Sarah Fowler at sfowler@gannett.com or (601) 961-7303. Follow @FowlerSarah on Twitter.