Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – Tuesday morning, a State Senator and a Port Angeles doctor debated the pros and cons of Referendum 90 at the Port Angeles Business Association’s online election forum.
In the upcoming election, R-90 asks voters to approve or reject state Senate Bill 5395, requiring public schools to provide comprehensive sexual health education to students in grades 6-12 beginning in the 2021 school year and for all public school students, including those in grades K-5, beginning in the 2022 school year.
Calling for a “no” vote, to strike down the new sex education curriculum, was state Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn. He says the new curriculum is a veiled attempt to indoctrinate our youth.
“So here we are being sold a bill of goods that this is for ‘prevent child abuse’, this is for ‘age-appropriate sex education’, and it’s actually nothing of the sort. It is to promote the gay sexual transgender agenda. So really, this is what I refer to as ‘verbal camouflage’. They use the English language, but it’s a different English, because the words mean different things.”.
Port Angeles pediatrician Dr. Grace Yelland argued for a “yes” vote, saying more needs to be done to teach children growing up in more sexually charged society how to protect themselves and respect others.
“The main agenda is to raise healthy kids that know how to make good decisions, that enter into relationships with open eyes, that know what they’re doing. They need to be morally mature, mentally mature, physically mature, to make the decisions. The agenda is not to promote LGBTQ values. But it will include treating all people as equal, as every person is worthy of their respect. The parents do have an input. They have a 100% option of opting their children out of this program.”
Currently, instruction about HIV and AIDS prevention is required to be taught by public schools beginning in 5th grade. The requirement was adopted in 1988 under the Washington AIDS Omnibus Act.
Local school boards can choose to provide additional sexual health education, or choose not to. In 2013, the state legislature required public schools that were offering sexual health education to include information about sex offense laws, including “age-appropriate information about the legal elements of sex offenses, where a minor is a victim, and the consequences upon conviction.
Under the new Bill, schools would be required to notify parents that they are providing comprehensive sexual health education and make all course materials accessible to the parents. Parents could file a written request with the school district to excuse their child from the instruction, which must be granted if requested.
Learn more about the proposed legislation by clicking here.