Abstinence Sex Ed Class
Star Tribune, January 13, 1999
By Katherine Kersten

When it comes to educational freedom, Minnesota has long been a national leader. From open enrollment to charter schools to education tax credits, Minnesota has been out in front, championing increased choice for parents.

Now the Osseo school district, one of the state's largest, is breaking new ground. Next fall -- in an apparent national first -- Osseo will allow parents to choose the kind of sex education instruction their children receive. Responding to a two-year effort by dedicated parents, Osseo will offer a two-track sex education program for junior and senior high students. Parents will judge which approach is best for their children.

Osseo parents' first option will be the comprehensive, or "safer sex," curriculum that the district currently offers. This curriculum assumes that many young people will have sex, and aims to provide the knowledge and skills they need to do it safely. Abstinence is discussed as the only 100 percent effective method of birth control, but it is presented as one of a variety of lifestyle choices. Students learn the details of birth control, along with "communication" and "decision-making" skills.

Osseo's new "abstinence until marriage" track will have a very different goal. It will present abstinence as the "desired standard of behavior," and help students develop the character traits necessary to achieve it -- self-discipline, fidelity, integrity and respect for others. Along with reproductive biology and sexually transmitted diseases, the new course will cover the social role of marriage and the personal benefits a committed marriage can bring. Students will learn about contraceptives, but will focus on their health-related shortcomings rather than how to obtain or use them. In addition, they will study how to set goals, hone self-control and avoid sexually compromising situations.

Parents have good reason to expect their children to benefit from the new
"abstinence until marriage" track. Teens are crying out for strong messages about abstaining from sex. Today, almost 52 percent of high school students report that they are abstinent, an 11 percent increase since 1991. Data suggest that abstinence courses have played an important role in this development.

In a recent New York Times poll, almost half of teens said that sex before marriage is "always wrong." In a 1997 survey by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 68 percent of teens said that it is "very important" that young people be given a " strong message from society that they should abstain from sex until they are at least out of high school." In an Emory University survey of sexually active teenage girls, 84 percent reported that what they wanted most from adults was information on how to "say no" without hurting boys' feelings.

Kids who choose abstinence need strong social support. What helps most? Last year, the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health found that young people who take a pledge to remain a virgin -- and those whose parents oppose teen sex and contraceptive use -- are at significantly lower risk of an early sexual debut.

Osseo's "abstinence until marriage" course will support teens who fit this category. Far from restricting sex-ed opportunities, the district's two-track plan will significantly expand parents' options. Nevertheless, the plan has encountered opposition -- from teachers who resent parents' "lack of trust" and advocacy groups that champion comprehensive sex education.

Critics' reaction has been revealing. They complain, for example, that Osseo's "abstinence until marriage" track is "not inclusive," and fails to reflect the district's diversity. Just the opposite is true, of course. The new plan creates diversity where none existed before. It gives a voice to parents who believe that sex belongs within marriage, and want public school instruction on this vital aspect of their children's lives to reflect their beliefs.

But the "diversity" claim is just a cover. There's another, deeper reason why people who elevate choice and tolerance to quasi-religious principles in other contexts so vehemently oppose parents' right to govern their children's education in sexual morality.

For thirty years, America's "knowledge class" has embraced the tenets of the sexual liberation movement. This movement holds that sex is at the core of our identity, and that sexual self- expression is critical to personal authenticity. In its view, to suggest that sex has a moral component -- to make "value judgments" -- is to impede life's central task of unfettered "self- actualization."

The American Civil Liberties Union -- a longtime champion of this position -- has taken the notion the next step, elevating sexual expression for children to a legal right. It opposes abstinence-only programs on grounds that they withhold information students need to "control their lives," thus impairing "full exercise of reproductive rights" and constituting " censorship." Fortunately, Osseo's school board has put educational freedom and parents' rights above such objections -- raised by people who are all for "choice," except when it threatens their own narrow agenda.

In the Twin Cities, over 40 churches have joined forces to promote abstinence by sponsoring a release time event entitled " Where Do You Live?" The event will take place at Crystal Free Church in New Hope on January 14 at 11:30 a.m. Junior and senior high students from all districts are invited, and need only a permission note from their parents to receive release time from school. Free, supervised bus transportation from school will be available for interested Osseo and Robbinsdale students. Participating churches are also sponsoring a three- part series for parents. For more information, call (651) 484-1040.