Fact check: False claim that Idaho agency is buying porn literacy materials for students

Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
·5 min read

The claim: The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is purchasing porn literacy materials for students

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June has sparked discussions about the nature of sex education classes in schools. Idaho educators in particular came under fire after a popular conservative social media account claimed a state agency was purchasing "porn literacy" materials for students.

"The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has reportedly been purchasing 'porn literacy' materials from ETR- a nonprofit organization," reads the caption of a Sept. 13 Instagram post from Libs of TikTok. "The material is for use in elementary-high school classrooms."

Education, Training and Research (ETR) is a non-profit that seeks to "Improve health and increase opportunities for youth, families and communities," according to its website.

The Instagram post also includes a video that features the ETR company logo and shows three people discussing porn literacy among young people.

The post generated over 100,000 views in less than a week. Similar posts have spread widely on Facebook.

But the claim is baseless.

The department's spokesperson told USA TODAY that while it does purchase sex education curricula from ETR, none of the materials include porn literacy, and it is up to school districts to decide whether to implement the purchased materials.

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USA TODAY reached out to Libs of TikTok for comment. USA TODAY has debunked other claims made by the page, including baseless assertions that Boston Children's Hospital is offering "gender reaffirming hysterectomies" for young girls and that an Illinois high school will implement a "race-based grading system."

Health department is not buying porn literacy materials for students

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said in a Sept. 14 press release that it does not "support or fund any porn literacy for children in Idaho."

The Idaho State Department of Education also has no knowledge of any porn literacy content or lessons being taught in Idaho schools, spokesperson Kristin Rodine told USA TODAY in an email.

Sex education curricula in schools are “a matter for determination at the local district level by the local school board of duly selected representatives of the people of the community,” according to Idaho Statutes § 33-1608.

While the state's Department of Health and Welfare does purchase certain sex education curricula from ETR, it is a school district's choice whether to implement those materials, according to Greg Stahl, the department's spokesperson. The department purchases:

  • Reducing the Risk, which teaches high school students how to “delay the initiation of sex or increase the use of protection against pregnancy and STI/HIV if they choose to have sex” and is offered to students in eighth through 12th grade

  • Making a Difference, which teaches adolescents how “to reduce their risk of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and pregnancy by abstaining from sex” and is offered to students in seventh through eighth grade

  • Cuidate, which is designed to "reduce HIV sexual risk among Latino youth” and is offered to teens between ages 13 and 18 in community settings, not schools

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None of these programs address porn literacy, and the department does not offer any sex education curriculum to elementary schools, according to Stahl.

The ETR clip included in the post is also taken out of context.

It comes from an online discussion the organization hosted in 2021 with two guest speakers called "Talking Porn Literacy in Sex Ed” as part of the webinar series “3 in 30” that was open to educators clinicians, and parents, according to Lauren Ranalli, the organization's spokesperson. She said it was a "one-time topic" and that no ETR curriculum includes or promotes pornography.

The Associated Press and Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Idaho's Department of Health and Welfare is purchasing porn literacy materials for students. The department does purchase sex education curricula from ETR, but none of the materials include porn literacy. It is up to school districts to decide whether to implement such materials.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim about sex ed materials in Idaho