Dripping Springs ISD to look at human sexuality instruction curriculum

DRIPPING SPRINGS — At its April 24 meeting, the Dripping Springs Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution convening the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) to recommend curricular materials for human sexuality instruction.

The SHAC assists the district in ensuring that local community values are reflected in the district's health education instruction, according to board policy. The process for the adoption of curricular materials for the district’s human sexuality instruction is outlined below.

• The board will adopt a resolution convening the SHAC for the purpose of making recommendations regarding the curriculum materials.

• Following the board’s adoption of the resolution, the SHAC will hold at least two public meetings on the curriculum materials before adoption and provide the recommendations adopted to the board at a public meeting.

• The board will take action on the adoption of the recommendations by a record vote at a public meeting.

“Because of legislative requirements, the board has to make an action on a resolution for the SHAC to consider any curriculum,” said Karen Kidd, assistant superintendent for learning and innovation.

According to agenda documents, the requirement that is also addressed in policy and the Texas Education Code states that any course materials and instruction relating to human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome shall be selected by the board of trustees with the advice of the SHAC and must:

• Present abstinence from sexual activity as the preferred choice of behavior in relationships to all sexual activity for unmarried persons of school age.

• Devote more attention to abstinence from sexual activity than to any other behavior.

• Emphasize that abstinence from sexual activity, if used consistently and correctly, is the only method that is 100% effective in preventing pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, infection with a human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome and the emotional trauma associated with adolescent sexual activity.

• Direct adolescents to a standard of behavior in which abstinence from sexual activity before marriage is the most effective way to prevent pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and infection with human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome;

• Teach contraception and condom use in terms of human use reality rates instead of theoretical laboratory rates, if instruction on contraception and condoms is included in curriculum content.

“This curriculum typically does not get taught until the spring and so we have a little bit of runway,” Kidd said. “We also have the need to finalize it with this SHAC, as the board appoints rolling members every year, so we really felt it was important the people who are at the table for the work can see that work through.”

“Our goal right now [is] we want to take our time, we want to look at the resources,” she continued. “We want to make sure we are doing due diligence to the process and so we are looking at possibly bringing a recommendation to the board at the very beginning of the school year. We talked about August or September.”

The board also approved G-W Texas Health Skills for Middle School and Texas Health Skills for High School Programs for a secondary health curriculum. The objective of the K-12 health curriculum is to motivate and assist students in maintaining and improving their health, preventing disease and reducing health-related risk behaviors, according to agenda documents.