Sex ed talk goes too far for parents

What should an educator do? A student asks a question during a sex education class that’s not covered in the approved curriculum. The principal answers it. The question was about oral and anal sex.

Parents in the small town of Onalaska in Lewis County are upset that their fifth graders heard a graphic discussion about those sex acts. They told KING 5 the topic was too mature for 10- and 11-year-old children.

“What gives this woman the right to come down here and go above our authority, is the way I look at it,” says parent Curt Pannkuk.

“I was one pissed off cowboy,” says James Gilliland, another parent.

Technically, the discussion was too advanced. Though some districts have different names for it, here’s the Family Life and Sexual Health (FLASH) curriculum approved for use in Washington public schools:

Lesson plans for 4th, 5th and 6th graders

Lesson plans for 7th and 8th graders

Lesson plans for high school students

Since 1988, state law has required some sort of sex education beginning at 4th grade.

School districts send notices to parents about the curriculum and they can opt out of the curriculum.

“I think the principal handled it appropriately at the time; she only gave factual information, no demonstrations,” says Onalaska Superintendent Scott Fenter. “In 6th grade they start becoming sexually aware and you’ve got to teach them ahead of time.”

By LINDA THOMAS