Parents Shocked by Material in Presentation on School's New Sex Health Curriculum

CPS says the material was mistakenly put in the presentation and is not intended to be part of the curriculum

Some parents are shocked and outraged by the graphic material they were shown at a parent meeting on a Chicago elementary school's new sex health curriculum for fifth and sixth graders.

Parents of children at Andrew Jackson Language Academy say they were given binders from Chicago Public Schools detailing what they were told was a new sex health curriculum, but the school has since said some of the material was put in the presentation by mistake. (h/t DNAinfo.com)

"It definitely gets to an inappropriate level, things I wouldn’t even discuss in my own personal life," said parent Rachel Gigliotti. "Sex with a condom, sex without a condom, sex with lube — things that no sixth grader should ever be exposed to.”

The slides detailed the “basics” of female condoms and “feel-good reasons to use them." It also details other forms of contraception, sex toys and sex acts.

Many parents said that although they support sex education, the material went too far for elementary school students.

“Sexual awareness, OK — but how to use a condom, and that it was going to be shown how, is a little bit extreme,” said parent Tamara Gear.

CPS says the material was mistakenly put in the presentation and is not intended to be part of the curriculum.

“The objectionable material presented at Andrew Jackson Language Academy this week is not and never was part of the student sexual education curriculum. It was mistakenly downloaded and included in the parent presentation, and we agree with parents it is not appropriate for elementary school students,” CPS spokesman Bill McCaffrey said in a statement. “As part of our sexual health education policy approved by the Board of Education in 2013, Chicago Public Schools offers a comprehensive sexual education curriculum that is designed to ensure age-appropriate material and minimum instructional minutes for every grade level, consisting of family and sexual health education topics for K-12 students.”

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