MARYLANDMaryland received $970,653 in federal funds for
Maryland Sexuality Education Law and Policy Maryland education code requires that health education classes be taught in kindergarten through twelfth grade, in mixed gender groups. It also states when certain topics may and may not be addressed. For example, the code says, “Direct teaching of human reproduction may not begin earlier than age 10 or later than age 12.” Regulations also state that an elective sexuality education course must be offered in middle and high schools. This course must be designed with an appointed citizen advisory committee that broadly represents the views of the community and must cover a number of topics including contraception, family planning, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The code states that teachers of sexuality education classes may have additional preparation for this class and that any teacher who feels “inadequate or uncomfortable” with the class does not have to teach it. Maryland State Regulations also mandate that “local school systems shall provide annual instruction in AIDS to all students at least once in grades three to six, six to nine, and nine to twelve.” Each local school board determines the actual grade. Parents or guardians may remove their children from any or all sexuality education classes. This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy. The elective courses offered in middle and high schools require parental permission in order for a student to participate, this is known as an “opt-in” policy. See Maryland Regulations 13A.04.18.02, 13A.04.18.03, and 13A.04.18.04. Recent Legislation SIECUS is not aware of any proposed legislation regarding sexuality education in Maryland. Events of Note Montgomery County School Board Approves New Sexuality Education Curriculum In 2005, the county’s school board approved a revised sexuality education curriculum that spoke positively of gays and lesbians and expanded instruction on the importance of contraceptives in protecting the health of sexually active students. Outside groups from Florida and Virginia, as well as major national right-wing groups like Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council converged on this community in an effort to prevent the changes from taking place. Ultimately their efforts forced the school board to go back to the drawing board.2 The determination of the county’s school board paid off on January 9, 2007 when revised sexuality education lessons for eighth and tenth graders were approved by a unanimous vote. The new program, which uses a curriculum titled Respect for Differences in Human Sexuality, is set to be field-tested in some middle and high schools as early as this spring. The new lessons discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in the eighth- and tenth-grade Family Life Curriculum, and tenth-grade health classes include expanded information about the importance of using condoms for sexually active youth.3 Jim Kennedy, a member of the citizen’s advisory committee which includes parents, teachers, students, and other community members, said that the revised curriculum remains gay-friendly because it uses non-judgmental language in discussing sexual orientation and gender identity.4 The two main instigators of the 2005 uproar, Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (P-Fox) remain unsatisfied. They continue to argue that the new curriculum offers only biased views of premarital sex, anal sex, and homosexuality. The two groups called for any lessons on sexual orientation to include perspectives that “homosexuals can change, that transgenderism is a mental disorder, and that anal intercourse is dangerous.”5 They have also stated that they are considering legal action. Montgomery County’s School Superintendent responded that the new curriculum was written by his staff, was built on specific academic objectives, and that it “circumscribes liability.”6 Sex Parties Re-Ignite Sexuality Education Debate The current curriculum for eighth-grade students focuses on abstinence. High school students receive information on the efficacy of contraceptives, although abstinence is still stressed. The county has an opt-in policy for its sexuality curriculum lessons, meaning that parents must give written permission in order for their children to attend the classes. The committee, composed of parents, teachers, students, and health officials, first approached the board suggesting a more comprehensive sexuality education curriculum for eighth-grade students in July 2006. It cited a county survey that found that 78 percent of respondents approved of comprehensive sexuality education for students ages 11–17 as support for its proposal. Despite the committee’s report, the board decided to continue to use the abstinence-only-until-marriage curriculum that was in place. 8 Toward the end of 2006, the committee once again recommended changes after news surfaced that many teenagers in Carroll County are participating in sex parties. The information came from two health counselors at a county clinic whose teenaged patients are reportedly engaging in sex games and sexual activity with multiple partners at these parties. “We are going to have an STD epidemic with the sharing of bodily fluids,” one of the health counselors said.9 Committee members stressed the importance of a comprehensive sexuality education for young people in their community. One resident who attended the committee meeting voiced her support of a new curriculum: “The more the kids are informed, the better off we are.” 10 The board, however, has said that it will accept the proposal only if the Health Department can prove that middle school students are engaging in sexual activity. The manager of the county’s Family Planning Clinic contended that collecting information regarding sexual activity would be very difficult and the school superintendent has refused to pursue the idea. 11 The committee plans to be persistent with its proposition. SIECUS will continue to monitor this situation. PFOX Flier Distribution Stirs Controversy Students responded in opposition to PFOX’s handouts, but administrators could do little to stop the flier circulation. Last year, the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Montgomery County Public School System could not discriminate against any non-profit group’s distribution of materials.12 Sexuality is a sensitive issue in Montgomery County, where there is continued debate over the revisions to the school’s sexuality education curriculum. PFOX has been very vocal throughout dispute, condemning the district’s attempt to include a discussion of homosexuality in the curriculum. A spokeswoman for PFOX defended the organization: “What we’re saying is that if you have unwanted same sex attraction—and there is a difference—then there are alternatives, and homosexual feelings can be overcome.” Students Protest Principal’s Response to Day of Silence The National Day of Silence, organized by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is intended to raise awareness of homosexual discrimination. Teens at Hammond High School who observed the day carried talking cards to explain their silence. According to some students, administrators started to send observers to the principal’s office, where she threatened to send them home or to suspend them if they remained silent. One student recounted her interaction with the principal, stating, “She said I was disrupting learning…she called it stupid.”14 Students staged a sit-in near the cafeteria to show their disapproval of the principal’s actions. The principal disagrees with the students’ reports, stating that threats of suspension came after the sit-in started. Howard County school officials are investigating the situation further, collecting accounts from both sides. The county encouraged students to report any issues either to the grievance committee at the high school or to the school system office. Hammond High School does not have a Gay-Straight Alliance, although attempts have been made to start one. Students say that the administration has been reluctant to work with the club’s supporters. County Creates Sexuality Education Assembly The program, developed by the organization Girls, Inc., will provide pertinent sexual health information to ninth graders in the county. The presentations will provide information about sexually transmitted diseases and contraceptives, including a condom demonstration, and will stress the importance of abstinence. One slide in the PowerPoint presentation states, “ABSTINENCE Saying NO is 100% effective AND the best choice.”15 Students will need parental permission to attend the assembly because of the graphic material presented. The county hopes to hold the same assemblies for parents, to help with open communication at home. The school board and education officials are excited about the endeavor. The Associate Director of Girls, Inc. said, “I think this is a baby step, starting out small and eventually making it bigger.”16 County Changes Sexuality Education Program, Includes Homosexuality The county is working on the sixth-grade programs first and will then address the other middle school and high school grades. The Supervisor of Health Education stated that the changes will be learning-centered, allowing students to apply their newly acquired knowledge.17 The district will continue its plans to include information about homosexuality and bisexuality in the high school curriculum despite the court battles that have erupted in Montgomery County over the same issue. Sexual orientation has been part of the curriculum in the past. The Director of Curriculum and Instruction looks to Montgomery County as a learning experience, stating, “We read about what was going on in the other jurisdiction, and we wanted to be careful and thoughtful.”18 Maryland School Board Updates Sexuality Education Curricula The Family Life Committee was commissioned to research what other counties were teaching in their middle schools and to compare it to its own school district. One Committee member said that, in their interviews with 22 of the state’s 24 jurisdictions, members discovered that “Harford County is the only county…that has not included information about STDs (except for HIV/AIDS) or teen pregnancy in the middle school curriculum.” In deciding to update the curriculum, school administrators also considered a long list of questions that middle school students had asked in class about sexual situations, STDs, and teen pregnancy. One of the Committee members noted that instruction at the school had suffered because of a school policy that limits discussions on topics such as STDs and teen pregnancy. She said that, because of the limitations, teachers had to answer students’ questions in an “around-the-barn kind of manner.” In February 2003, the school board voted to bring the middle school curriculum in line with other schools and approved a revised sexuality education curriculum that was originally intended to be taught in eighth-grade physical education classes. In April 2004, on the advice of the school committee, the Board of Education voted to update the school’s sexuality education curriculum and to start the curriculum in seventh rather than eighth grade, as originally intended. Parents may remove their children from the class if they prefer. Maryland’s Youth: Statistical Information of Note
Baltimore, Maryland22
Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding The funding is used to run the Maryland Abstinence Education and Coordination Program (MAECP), which is administered by the Center for Maternal and Child Health. The MAECP provides grants to local health departments in addition to providing them with Managing Pressures Before Marriage: An Educational Series for Young People, a curriculum developed by Marion Howard, Ph.D., and Marie Mitchell, R.N., that targets three age groups; pre-teens (fifth and sixth grade), young teens (seventh and eighth grade), and older teens. It provides age-appropriate information and skill-building strategies for youth in an effort to assist them in making positive decisions. Local programs use the pre-teen, young teen, and teen manuals as well as the accompanying video tapes. Some programs also supplement their lessons with other curricula such as the Developmental Assets Profile (DAP). MAECP also funds the Campaign for our Children to run a statewide media campaign and the Maryland School of Social Work to provide training, professional development, and parent and community education, and to hold youth-oriented conferences. Title V Evaluation The Maryland Center for Maternal and Child Health evaluated its Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program in 2002. This evaluation process was reviewed by Advocates for Youth in its 2004 report, Five Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education: Assessing the Impact.23 Advocates for Youth was forced to cite only an abstract of the full evaluation because the Center for Maternal and Child Health chose not to release the final report. From the information available, however, Advocates for Youth determined that participants’ pre- and post-test scores showed no significant change in attitudes or practices regarding abstinence.24 In addition, the proportion of youth who reported that they would remain abstinent until the completion of high school and the proportion of youth who reported abstinent behavior in the year prior to the survey both declined between pre- and post-test.25 Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) and Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) Grantees The University of Maryland, Baltimore runs the abstinence-only-until-marriage program Realizing Excellence through Abstinence Education Career Exploration and Healthy Lifestyle Choices (REACH). The program is provided through the College of Medicine’s Department of Community Affairs, which partners with community organizations.26 REACH aims to give pre-adolescent and adolescent students the skills to “practice abstinence as a peer-accepted alternative to early sexual activity.” The program is made up of 24 two-hour sessions that cover peer pressure, self-esteem, decision-making, abstinence, and the consequences of early sexual activity. Students also may receive a college-age or professional mentor to help them through the program. REACH uses an expanded version of the Sex Can Wait curriculum as well as Baby Think It Over, aprogram that uses computerized dolls to simulate teen parenthood.27 There is also a 12-week class for parents of students in the program in which they discuss communication, parenting styles, and physical and mental changes of adolescents. Federal and State Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in FY 2006
Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Coordinator
Maryland Organizations that Support Comprehensive Sexuality Education
Maryland Organizations that Oppose Comprehensive Sexuality Education
Newspapers in Maryland
References
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