By DAVID BOYLE
In Anchorage, students will be back in school on Aug. 18.
Did you want to opt your child out of sex education classes in school? The state law, “14.03.016 A Parent’s Right to Direct the Education of the Parent’s Child”, clearly states in a succinct manner parents’ rights when it comes to sex education classes.
How the Anchorage School District chose to implement this state law is found in four separate policies- Board Policy 6141, Board Policy 6142, Board Policy 6144, and Board Policy 5141. A parent must review each policy to determine what steps he/she must take.
The policies with their titles:
- Board Policy 6141, Recognition of Religious Beliefs and Customs
- Board Policy 6142, Family Life/Sex Education
- BP 6144, Controversial Issues/Books
- Board Policy 5141, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault
The fragmentation of parents’ rights for their children lacks the transparency that the Anchorage School District says it values. These rights should be published as a single board policy so parents can readily know what their rights are.
However, when it comes to transgender policy, the ASD clearly identifies the steps the school can take to assist in your child’s transition in a single 10-page document.
In a separate student opt-out guideline provided to school staff, the school board approved “Sexuality Education Guidelines for Instruction K-12” in October 2016. This specifies what the district must do to allow parents to opt their child out of sex education classes.
These teacher/administrator guidelines restate the state law (AS 14.03.016):
“Opting Out and Parent Permission Regarding Sexuality Education Instruction: In accordance with Alaska Statute 14.03.061a)3, the district must notify parents of not less than two (2) weeks prior to the teaching and presentation of sex education, human reproductive education and human sexuality education and provide for the objection to and withdrawal of a student from such activities. Statute requires that written parental objection and/or withdrawal be specific to the activity, not categorical. Notification to parents, opportunities to review materials, and the option to remove students from class must be extended to parents or guardians of students at all levels”.
But these guidelines are labeled for use by teachers/administrators. It would have been much simpler for the district to use the same streamlined policy for educating parents on their rights, versus requiring parents to review three separate documents.
This would have clearly identified the required steps for both the school employees and the parent. Why should parents have to review three separate policies to find the information they need?
Finally, shouldn’t the transgender policy also be included in human sexuality education policy?
To provide your comments, you can contact the ASD School Board here: [email protected].
David Boye is former executive director of Alaska Policy Forum and is Must Read Alaska’s education writer.
