Rachael Pacella

rpacella@dmg.gannett.com

The inclusion of a lesson defining homosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons was debated.

Another touchy subject was inclusion of information about HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention.

The board has approved the books, but what will ultimately be taught is still up for discussion.

The Indian River School District's Board of Education has approved the purchase of textbooks for a new health curriculum, now the task at hand is finding what to include and leave out to best fit the community, officials said.

At a workshop meeting, teachers, nurses, administrators, board members and parents pored over lesson plans, rating them and identifying concerns. What should be taught at each grade level, or not at all, was still up for debate at the end of the session.

One board member was particularly vocal with his concerns, including a lesson on sexuality that listed definitions for various sexual orientations, such as heterosexual, straight, homosexual, gay, lesbian and bisexual.

"I am objecting publicly to anything that discusses gender identity, homosexuality," Shaun Fink said. "There needs to be a discussion in an open forum about this, this is not something that can just slip by."

The lesson Fink refers to also discusses definitions of transgendered people and gender roles. One teacher commented transgendered students currently attend district schools.

Fink and a member of the public said that type of education should be done at home, with parents.

"Schools have no role in teaching someone 'if you're gay you're normal.' That is not the school's role," Fink said, putting air quotes around the phrase. "When did the school become the arbiter of what's normal and what's not normal."

The issue, some teachers said, is students aren't being taught about transgendered people and other topics pertaining to a person's sexuality at home because some parents are too busy working to make ends meet. Preparing them for the real world, and giving them an awareness of what they might encounter is important, the teachers added.

Board member Nina Lou Bunting said the focus should be on teaching respect in the middle school health curriculum.

"Whether you go into transgender, cross-dressing, all the different aspects, is that really so important? It's just if someone is different, we are to respect them as human beings as we wish to be respected," Bunting said. "Personally I don't think it's a choice if you're gay or whatever, I think that's the way you are made."

The lesson including definitions about homosexuality and transgendered people would be appropriate at the high school level, Bunting said.

While the meeting did not reach an agenda item to discuss lessons regarding HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention, Fink spoke saying teaching prevention went against the state's Title 14 requirement to have an abstinence heavy curriculum.

"You can't teach both sides of it," he said. "Condoms don't belong in a classroom. End of story."

Fink compared teaching HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention to teaching students how to do drugs.

"We teach not to do drugs," he said. "We don't teach our kids to check their hash to make sure it's quality stuff."

But the comparison is invalid, teachers and nurses said. Having sexual feelings is a normal part of human existence, while doing drugs is not, and it is illegal.

For prevention, showing students the consequences of their actions could be a good tool, Bunting said, remembering a video she saw with photos of an STD infection when she was in school.

"Let's face it, you have to scare them a little bit," she said.

The workshop discussion was just the first step in the process of deciding what topics to include and what to leave out. At least one additional workshop meeting will be scheduled, and the final curriculum will go back in front of the school board.

For health lessons, letters will be sent to parents and students cannot participate without returning with a signed copy.

rpacella@dmg.gannett.com

302-537-1881, ext. 207

On Twitter @rachaelpacella