Ontario health and education experts say they are frustrated and puzzled that the Wynne government will not launch the updated health and sex education curriculum that has been shelved for more than three years over a handful of complaints — until it consults even more parents.

Education Minister Liz Sandals refused Monday to commit to putting the curriculum into action by this fall, despite warnings from a coalition of 50 groups that Ontario’s 15-year-old sex education curriculum — the oldest in the country — is dangerously out of date.

“We just want to check in with parents because it’s an area, unlike most curriculums, where parents have expressed concern,” Sandals told reporters as the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (Ophea) held a news conference urging her to state a timeline for bringing the curriculum into the classroom.

Ophea executive director Chris Markham said thousands of parents, teachers, public health professionals and students were consulted three years ago in developing the curriculum, which puts more emphasis on mental health in high school, and in elementary school includes teaching the proper names for body parts in Grade 1, discussing different kinds of families — including same-sex parents — in Grade 3 and gives middle school teachers tips on how to answer questions about oral and anal sex in the context of safe sex.

“We’re a little frustrated because it took two years to develop the curriculum but it’s taking more than three years for the government to figure out what to do with it,” said Markham.

Since the curriculum was shelved abruptly by former premier Dalton McGuinty over objections from a handful of Christian leaders, Ophea has met with a series of education ministers to suggest ways to gather more feedback — from telephone town halls to polls — to no avail.

“It’s mind-boggling that the government doesn’t have a plan or a timeline for consulting,” said Markham. Supporters of the curriculum say they can’t understand why the Liberals seem to be dragging their heels to enact a curriculum Premier Kathleen Wynne has vowed “will evolve” and that would cost little to implement because the documents are ready and have the support of numerous educators, hospitals, mental health groups and universities.

The minority Liberal government could face an election next fall or spring, although the curriculum has the support of the New Democrats.

Parent advocacy group People for Education consulted widely on the proposed 2010 curriculum and found very few objections, noted executive director Annie Kidder.