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SEX EDUCATION INPUBLIC SCHOOLS:SEXUALIZATION OF CHILDRENAND LGBT INDOCTRINATIONBY CATHY RUSEfamily research councilWashington, D.C.

ABOUT THEAUTHORCathy Ruse is Senior Fellow and Directorof Human Dignity at Family Research Council.She has devoted her professional career topromoting the dignity of the human person. Herprofessional experience spans the fields of education,communication, public policy, and law. Previously,Mrs. Ruse was Chief Counsel to the ConstitutionSubcommittee in the House of Representativeswhere she had oversight of civil rights and humanrights issues, as well as religious freedom andfree speech matters which came before the House.She received her law degree from GeorgetownUniversity and a certificate from the NationalInstitute for trial advocacy during her work as alitigator in the District of Columbia. She holdsan honorary doctoral degree from FranciscanUniversity of Steubenville. She has publishedscholarly legal articles on a variety of constitutionalissues, has filed “Friend of the Court” briefswith the U.S. Supreme Court in cases involvingabortion, euthanasia, and pornography, and hastestified as an expert in congressional hearings inthe U.S. House and Senate. Mrs. Ruse has madenational and international media appearances,including PBS, CNN, and Fox News, amongmany others. Her writing has been published inThe Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and manyother publications.sex education in public schools: sexualization of childrenand lgbt indoctrinationby cathy ruse 2020 family research councilall rights reserved.printed in the united states

Sex Education in Public Schools:Sexualization of Children andLGBT Indoctrinationby Cathy RuseDid you know that Some public schools teach children theycould be born in the wrong body?1 Young teens are shown videos with techniques to pleasure their sex partners?2 Students are told how to get secret abortionswithout telling their parents?3Most of us remember what sex education waslike when we were in school. A couple of uncomfortable hours. Line drawings showing humangrowth and development. Admonitions to becareful, respect others, and save sex for marriage.Things are very different today. The “facts of life”have not changed, but “inclusivity” and “sex positivity” and other popular buzz-word conceptshave changed sex education.AS A NATION WE HAVE“OUTSOURCED” SEX ED.Talking to children about sexuality is a highlysensitive endeavor. It is emotionally charged, evenunder the best of circumstances. As a nation wehave “outsourced” sex ed. Frankly, most parentsreally don’t want to have these awkward conversations with their children. Parents instinctivelydon’t want to disturb the natural innocence andsexual latency period before puberty. When education “experts” offer to handle the topic, it canbe appealing. Especially when they promise usthat lessons will be ordered around saving sex formarriage, creating strong families, and protectingchildren’s health and well-being.

It sounds reasonable. But does it really work thisway? A major new study reveals failure rates ashigh as 87 percent for school-based sex ed programs.4 Even worse, some programs actually result in increased sexual activity, increased numberof sex partners, and increased sexual experimentation by students.5And yet, school systems are devoting significantclassroom time to them—70 hours per childin one district6—even while American publicschools are failing to fulfill their core mission.Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called the latest national assessment of student achievement“devastating.” Two-thirds of American studentscan’t read at grade level and reading scores haveworsened in 31 states.7 “This country is in a student achievement crisis,” she said.Well-funded international pressure groups havebeen extraordinarily successful in pushing whatthey call “Comprehensive Sexuality Education”(CSE) into American public schools, an agendadriven curriculum that sexualizes children.SIECUS homepage at Siecus.orgIn CSE, youth sex is normalized, and the concept of “sexual rights” and radical sexual ideologyfor youth is advanced. The Sexuality Information2

and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS),the oldest architect of institutional sex ed and aleading proponent of CSE, recently rebranded itsmessaging to capture this new sex-positive approach: “Sex Ed for Social Change.”8Education has given way to indoctrination.Consider the emergence of no-opt-out lawsand policies that revoke the right of parents toopt their children out of sexuality-based lessons.California9 and Illinois10 have taken this radicalstep. When Illinois parents started keeping theirkids home during LGBTQ Week (lesbian, gay,bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning), theschool board vice president suggested not tellingparents when it would occur: “Not telling peoplethe time of the curriculum is an option.”11Parents have two main concerns about sex ed today: That it sexualizes children and that it is loaded with LGBTQ indoctrination. This pamphletwill reveal troubling examples of each problem,will discuss the powerful organizations behind itall, and then will offer some action steps for parents to consider in their fight to protect the healthand innocence of their children.THE SEXUALIZATION OF CHILDRENYear after year, sex ed programs push the limits onwhat is appropriate, both in terms of the materialpresented to students and the age at which it ispresented. In many school districts today, lessonsintroduce sexual concepts to very young childrenand promote risky sexual behavior to vulnerableteens and pre-teens.IN MANY SCHOOL SYSTEMS,SEX EDUCATION HAS BECOMEA VEHICLE FOR AN AGENDADRIVEN CURRICULUM THATSEXUALIZES CHILDREN.3

What was once simply imparting science-basedinformation and skills to save sex until marriagehas now become creating young radical sexualideologues with the desire to exercise their “sexual rights.” Preparing children to have sex withmultiple partners over the course of a lifetimeseems to be a basic assumption underlying muchof sexual education content. Needless to say, thisis not in line with Christian and other faith viewson sexuality and marriage.“How To” Sex Workshops For KidsThroughout the country, sex education is increasingly introducing elements of sex instruction forstudents. And many parents are completely in thedark.The California State Board of Education, forexample, recently adopted a Health EducationCurriculum Framework that includes recommendations for radical sex and gender educationinstructional materials; this framework is intended to be guidance for the state’s public schools.Lessons offer “tips” like “foreplay can be enjoyablein itself and can lead to orgasm for both partnerswithout having intercourse.”124

New curriculum in Austin, Texas encourageseven pre-pubescent children to consider “vaginal intercourse,” “oral intercourse,” and “analintercourse.”13 Angry parents have gone to schoolboard meetings demanding to know who gave theschool district the right to teach their child howto have anal and oral sex.14Schools in Indiana actually send teens shoppingfor condoms, with a worksheet to fill out comparing brands, prices, lubrication, and whether or notthey are comfortable shopping in the store.15Parents in a rural Virginia high school were outraged when they learned their ninth graders wereshown videos teaching “penis pleasure,” how to“stimulate a prostate” inside the anus, and the joysof “sex toys.”16 The video was created by a YouTubestar with ties to Planned Parenthood.Speaking of Planned Parenthood, the nation’slargest abortion business is also in the business ofpushing its own version of radical sex ed. PlannedParenthood claims to be “the single largest provider of sex education in the United States.”17 It’s“Get Real” curriculum includes instructions forseventh graders on how to use grocery store polyethylene cling wrap as a dental dam for oral sex.18Teaching Kids How toConsent to SexA troubling trend in sex education is the push toteach “sexual consent,” presumably to equip kidsto resist committing, or being a victim of, sexualassault.5

But many parents aren’t buying it.Consider this statement from a “Get Real” trainerat Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts:“Building skills around consent means movingbeyond the ‘how to say no’ model of teaching refusal skills to also teach young people how to ask forconsent ”19 (emphasis added).Massachusetts politicians are considering a statewide sex ed curriculum mandate with lessons forstudents on how to “make healthy decisions aboutrelationships and sexuality, including affirmativeand voluntary consent to engage in physical orsexual activity.”20In Fairfax County, Virginia, eighth graders areguided in extensive discussions about obtainingmutual consent before engaging in sex—in an abstinence lesson!21 The word “consent” appears 25times.Consenting to a sex act does not make that acthealthy, acceptable, or safe—especially when theactors are children! The “consent” movementseems less about avoiding assault and more aboutpromoting sex and sexual rights.Proponents sometimes admit this: “Consent education respect[s] young people’s right to sexual6

agency and self-determination,” according to theGuttmacher Institute, a research group foundedby Planned Parenthood.22 “Teaching about consent is key to pushing back against abstinenceonly messages.”A sex ed teacher in Brownsville, Tennessee tolda reporter that consent must be enthusiastic andfreely given but it can also be revoked. “It’s OK tosay yes, then in the heat of the moment, changeyour mind.”23 True enough. But do parents agreethat it’s OK for their children to say yes to sex?And doesn’t a focus on consenting to sex assume aparadigm of acceptable sexual activity not boundto marriage and family?Aren’t They Supposed to TeachAbstinence?The expectation of parents is that sex educationfor their children will focus on abstinence, andteaching sexual abstinence is often required bystate law. But that doesn’t mean the experts writing or teaching the lessons will honor the purposeof the law, or those parent expectations.For example, parents in Fairfax County, Virginianaturally assumed their eighth graders’ abstinencelesson encouraged kids to remain abstinent until marriage. But curriculum drafters had anotherkind of abstinence in mind—abstinence until your next steady boyfriend or girlfriend. Thelesson plan includes a decision-making exercisethat guides them to be “sexually abstinent untilin a faithful, monogamous relationship” (emphasisadded).7