Porn in Schools? A TVUSD Parent’s Perspective (Part 1 of 2)
Aaron Cook, Temecula
Over the last few years, the Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) has been in the mix of the national public school debates about parent’s rights within the school system. There have been accusations that the public schools teach inappropriate, sexualized, and pornographic material to kids as young as kindergarten. These claims are false. Those making these accusations claim teachers are indoctrinating and grooming children for nefarious purposes, and doing so secretly without parents knowledge or permission. Again, these claims are false. As of April 2024, this has culminated with the recall election of the board president, Dr. Joseph Komrosky, set for June 4.
I am the father of 4 students at TVUSD, in schools at every level, elementary, middle, and high school. My wife and I have lived in Temecula for over ten years. While I grew up in the area, one of the primary motivators for moving back here was the high reputation of the schools. We are fortunate to be very involved parents; my wife volunteers at our elementary school campus and is in the classrooms regularly so she frequently hears what is being taught firsthand. We review our kids' homework assignments and the content made available by teachers on the myriad communication apps (remind, infinite campus, etc) and email. We read the assigned books if they are books we haven’t already read. My point is, we are very aware of what is being taught. Recently a supporter of Dr Komrosky sent me links to the school curriculum guidelines from the state and TVUSD as evidence that sexualized content is being taught to our kids. The links are:
https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ee/c1f.asp
https://www.tvusd.k12.ca.us/Page/23007
Here are my long-winded perspectives on this content and why I don’t find it concerning as a parent, and actually see value in the curriculum guidelines as implemented by TVUSD. I recognize not everyone will agree with my perspectives. Convincing others to agree with me is not my objective. Rather, I aim to help those who disagree with me to understand another legitimate point of view that has nothing to do with extremist indoctrination or deviance. Ultimately I believe our goals are the same: protect our kids while helping them achieve their maximum educational potential. I just believe Dr. Komrosky’s approach is not the best way to achieve those goals, and he is in fact harming the educational goals of our school district.
The content from the links falls into two categories, sexual health instruction (sex ed), and more general LGBTQ awareness.
Sexual Health Education
My Family’s Experience
The content specifically about sexual health is only taught with parent permission and after parents have the opportunity to review the information. In the past, there was a “Human Growth and Development” lesson for 5th graders. And “Comprehensive Sexual Health Education” is offered to 8th graders and as a section of the high school biology classes. I’ll share my real world experience with TVUSD schools and teachers. When my oldest was in 5th grade, I went to a presentation at the district offices for parents prior to choosing whether to have my child in the “Human Growth and Development” class or opt out. The info was very basic about how kids' bodies change during puberty, nothing about sex itself at all. I felt it was an appropriate level of info for my 5th grader. Coincidentally the class was also taught by a teacher who attends my conservative church with me. Not that it should matter, but because I know her personally, I had no concern that she would be teaching anything inappropriate or outside the presented material. And in a sense it does matter. The teacher’s at our kid’s schools are our neighbors, members of our communities, many of them with kids in the schools as well. Whether we know them personally or not, they are not some faceless indoctrination robots. Assuming they are deliberately seeking to turn kids away from their parent’s values is untrue and insulting.
When my oldest was in 8th grade, I reviewed the content of the sex ed material online, similar to the link provided above. The overwhelming message my son took from the middle school material was to avoid sexual activity until you feel ready for the responsibility of parenthood. Again, as a father, I fully support this message for my 14 year old. Coincidentally my son will be starting the 9th grade biology class sex ed material next week (April 2024). The high school sent my wife and I an email over six weeks in advance with links to all the content in written and video format, as well as forms for opting out if we choose to do so as parents.
Some key points:
As a homework assignment, the students are required to discuss what they learned with their parent/guardian
The instructor reiterates repeatedly that the only way to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STIs is abstinence
If any student asks a morality based question, the instructor refers them to their parent to answer.
None of the content presented was concerning to me as a parent for my 15 year old to be learning; he’s less than three years away from legal adulthood. But if it were, the opt out process is very straightforward with clear deadlines identified in the communication from the school.
Outside the formal instruction outlined above, none of my kids have heard a teacher bring up the subject of sex or gender in class.
Benefits of Comprehensive Sex Education
This is one of the biggest factors in my perspective on the topic. There is overwhelming data to show that communities that embrace comprehensive sex education, as opposed to exclusive abstinence only messaging, experience:
Lower levels of teen sexual activity
Older average age of first sexual encounter
Better understanding of consent
Lower rates of unplanned pregnancy
Lower rates of abortion
These are outcomes I believe both sides of the argument would agree are positive. I realize that initially seems counterintuitive, but coming from a conservative religious background (I’ll expound on this more in part 2), I personally believe this is a result of human nature/psychology. When something is considered taboo, there is an inherent human curiosity, and propensity to act out on natural human biological tendencies in negative, and sometimes even harmful ways (hence the rampant sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention brought to light over the last several years to name a couple examples). Age appropriate open dialogue about sexuality typically results in healthier outcomes that most people agree are actually best for our kids and communities.
An interesting example of this from an actual sex trafficking victim is Elizabeth Smart. She also has a background from a socially conservative religion that overemphasized purity culture and shame based sexual perspectives. After her horrible experience as a survivor of sexual abuse and trafficking, she has become an advocate for protecting children by reframing the topic away from shame and purity, and instead towards comprehensive sex education and abuse awareness as a way to prevent children from being abused the way she was.
General LGBTQ Awareness
The content from the state curriculum link that I have reviewed that is not sex ed specific is focused on two concepts, neither of which, in my opinion, teaches or encourages kids anything of a sexualized nature.
Fostering a Safe Learning Environment for all Kids
I’m sure we’d agree no kid deserves to be bullied or ostracized for who they are. Unfortunately kids are insecure and bullying is likely to be part of our culture as long as we’re human. We’ve all been there. Regrettably, I participated in more unkind behavior towards kids my friends and I perceived as “too gay” when I was a kid than I’d like to admit. So I don’t see anything wrong with teaching kids to be kind to others regardless of who they are. I see this as a primary aim of these guidelines.
Somewhat off topic, but related to some of the culture war debates at board meetings, I'd add that this is my understanding of the purpose of the rainbow pride flag - to indicate that this learning environment is for everyone, including people who have often been treated unkindly in the past, which is why I don’t find it offensive. In this sense, teachers can just focus on teaching the key components of a quality education rather than worrying about how a kid identifies, whether that identity coincides with the teacher's personal views, and whether the kid's parents are aware of how the kid is identifying. These details are none of the teacher's business except for creating a positive learning environment for all kids.
Learning About Historically Marginalized Individuals' Contributions to Society
The curriculum guidelines require recognizing previously marginalized people who contributed to our history in some way. In the past, LGTBQ people were ignored at best, and more often mistreated and denied basic civil rights. I don’t see anything wrong with my kids learning about some details of their fight for civil rights, similar to the women’s suffrage movement, or civil rights for racial minorities. Learning of these struggles from the past helps us to be a better society today that ideally treats all people with our country’s founding principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Summary
There is no inappropriate sexualized content in the state compliant TVUSD curriculum at any age level. Any sex ed classes for older kids provide full transparency in advance, allow parents to opt their kids out, and are shown to achieve outcomes that all sides of the argument see as positive. The LGBTQ awareness guidelines do not contain any sexual content. Curriculum content is available to parents and parents have existing rights. Some of those claiming otherwise, like Dr Komrosky, are doing so to scare voters and are bringing divisive politics to our neighborhood schools. To end the divisive politics and preserve the top quality education provided at our schools we should recall Dr Komrosky and elect a board trustee that is serious about education for all our students.
For more detail on my perspectives about the LGBTQ related state guidelines, see part 2.
Why Recall?
Ultimately, based on my experience with TVUSD school curriculum, which is compliant with the state mandated guidelines, class instruction is entirely appropriate for my kids and actually beneficial for their best educational outcomes. I know that if anything were to come up that I see as inappropriate, I have existing rights as a parent to weigh in. And in sad cases where an unfortunate violation of trust occurs, there are laws and administration set up to handle these one off situations. From my perspective and personal experience, the claim that inappropriate, sexualized, pornographic curriculum content is sanctioned at TVUSD public schools (or the state of California) is entirely false. The claim that teachers are seeking to indoctrinate or groom students with deviant ideology is false. I understand some people prefer the sensitive topics I write about above not be part of their child’s public school experience, which is why parents do have rights to opt their kids out of sex ed and request alternative assignments when they are uncomfortable with assigned materials. Unfortunately, I believe that some people, like Dr Komrosky, are deliberately exaggerating, or straight up fabricating ideas about what is being taught in our schools to create an atmosphere of fear with the aim of advancing their political objectives and imposing their world view on others, even if they personally believe their mission is righteous. And sadly, many other sincere people are believing these fabricated and exaggerated stories without any personal experience in the schools. I believe Dr Komrosky’s focus on these culture war issues is based on, at best, a misunderstanding of the purpose of these curriculum topics. They are deliberately represented in a mischaracterized way, creating unnecessary division in our community, and distracting from the role of board governance for the best educational outcomes for our kids.
Additional info:
Benefits of Comprehensive Sex Education
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X20304560
Elizabeth Smart
