Lessons on abortion and sexual orientation drafted in the past school year will not be taught to Alexandria high school students this year.
The lesson plans surfaced last January, when a member of the family-life education advisory committee objected to them. Shortly after the objection, the plans were marked as drafts on the schools’ Web site.
Starting in September, the entire family-life curriculum will be reviewed, schools spokeswoman Amy Carlini said. The review is normal procedure, she said.
The lesson plans on abortion and sexual orientation should include applicable Virginia law as other lesson plans do, like those on smoking and domestic abuse, said Kenneth Wolfe, the committee member who objected to the plans in January. The lesson plans do not mention that sodomy is a felony and minors cannot obtain abortions without parental consent.
“I also thought parents ought to know it was being talked about and the community as a whole aware,” Wolfe said.
The topics are included in the required high school curriculum, but parents can opt their children out of the class.
The draft plans include definitions of related terms and a survey on both topics. The abortion plan also provides a history of abortion law in the U.S. and suggests homework for students, including comparing abortion rights and anti-abortion rights Web sites and interviewing parents. The sexual orientation plan includes watching a video called “What If I’m gay?”
Abortion and sexual orientation have been included in Alexandria’s curriculum since 1982, according to a schools statement. The difference, Wolfe said, was that there were no lesson plans before, just some material in textbooks.
The sample plans were drafted by a retired teacher, according to the statement.
Wolfe said, however, that the abortion plan’s material came from Planned Parenthood, an organization that advocates for abortion rights and provides gynecological exams and abortions.
If it’s determined that any changes should be made to the curriculum, they will be implemented in the 2008-09 school year, Carlini said.
