Gwinnett County School Board delays vote on sex education curriculum

Larry Spruill
·2 min read
2

The Gwinnett County School Board decided to not change the way they teach sex education, at least not yet.

The board decided to pull the discussion off the table just minutes into Thursday’s meeting.

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It was a packed room of teachers, students and parents on Thursday night at the Gwinnett County Public School Board meeting.

“I’m here to watch the vote,” said Holly Terei.

Terei was in the crowd as she waited on a discussion and a vote on whether the school board would adopt a new curriculum for sex education, but that vote never happened.

Instead, the school board decided to remove the item...at least for now.

That item has caused an uproar through the county.

“It’s one thing for parents to have to guard the social media, and the movies and the music. It’s another thing when we drop our kids off at school and we have to worry about our children being exposed to curriculum that teaches them how to perform sexual acts,” said Terei.

For the past 22 years, the Gwinnett County School System has taught ‘Abstinence-Only’ classes for sex education. But now, school leaders are considering a new comprehensive sex education curriculum.

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They said it will align with state standards. That program is called ‘Health Smart’. It would include conversations about sexual and gender identity.

Some parents support that program.

“Health Smart provides resources for parents to have conversations on sensitive issues. The more informed and comfortable a parent is, the less likely the kids are to engage in those risky behaviors,” said one parent.

Meanwhile, Terei said she’s hoping the school board will listen to the majority.

“I’m hoping that they’ll do the right thing and abide by parents’ wishes,” said Terei.

The Georgia Department of Education Superintendent sent the school leaders a letter.

That letter asked them to delay the vote to change the curriculum. A spokesperson with the district told Channel 2′s Larry Spruill that the board will probably discuss the curriculum at the next board meeting.

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