--- [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) # Judge Says No to ‘Abstinence-Only’ Sex Ed Program ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/May-2015/040l.png)SEX ED POLITICS-A judge in Fresno County, California, has ruled against an abstinence-only sex education program, saying a school district violated state law by failing to provide adequate instruction on sexual health and HIV prevention. Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald Black said a lawsuit against Clovis Unified School District was justified because the district failed to offer "comprehensive, medically accurate, objective and bias-free" education, in violation of the [California Comprehensive Sexual Health & HIV/AIDS Prevention Act](http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/%20), adopted in 2003. The law requires public schools to "provide a pupil with the knowledge and skills necessary to protect his or her sexual and reproductive health from unintended pregnancy and STDs." "Given the high social cost of teen pregnancy and similar toll on society of HIV/ADIS \[sic\] and other sexually transmitted diseases, the rights vindicated by this suit, access to medically, and socially appropriate sexual education, is an important public right," Black wrote. "We continue to be confident that the District acted appropriately and that our former 9th grade curriculum was unbiased, more than 'abstinence only,' and legally compliant; and that the issues raised in plaintiffs’ litigation were not accurate," Kelly Avants, Clovis Unified's chief communication officer, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. "We are currently considering whether to pursue an appeal of Judge Black’s ruling." The suit, filed by a group of Clovis parents in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union, alleged that the school district primarily used abstinence-oriented materials and did not properly educate students about contraception. The suit also accused the district of using instructional videos biased against LGBT individuals, as well as a video that compared a non-virgin woman with a "dirty shoe." At least one video used by the district had been cited by the state Department of Education as unsuitable "due to medical inaccuracies." {module \[1177\]} Black's ruling reads: *Plaintiffs claim that the District approved and used a variety of "egregiously inaccurate and biased videos," including Sex still has a Price Tag and No Apologies: The Truth about Life, Love and Sex; in 2007 it engaged an outside agency, Teen Choices, Inc., to provide instruction in intermediate school using a curriculum that was "replete with inaccurate, biased, and outdated information"; it approved another agency, the Pregnancy Care Center, to provide instruction despite the fact that its instructors did not have the required expertise in comprehensive sexual health education, and as it representative later admitted its presentation did not meet the requirements of the Act; and it adopted textbooks that failed to mention condoms or other contraception.* The parents filed suit in 2012, but dropped the case in 2014 after the school changed its policies. Black, however, ordered the school district to pay for the parents' legal fees, citing the legal action as the catalyst for change in the district. As the[ San Francisco Chronicle notes](http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Judge-Abstinence-only-curriculum-is-not-sex-6256481.php), the ruling only applies to the Clovis district. However, as the first legal opinion on the 2003 law, the order may set a precedent for other schools. "Teens deserve complete, accurate health information, which they'll need at whatever point in their life they become sexually active," Phyllida Burlingame, of the ACLU of Northern California, said Monday in a statement. "This ruling is huge victory for students." **[Read the full ruling here.](https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/Clovis_Ruling_05_04_2015.pdf)** *(Mollie Reilly is deputy politics editor at [The Huffington Post](http://huffingtonpost.com) where this report was first posted.)* -cw CityWatch Vol 13 Issue 40 Pub: May 15, 2015 Written by Mollie Reilly. May 14 2015 [](https://www.addtoany.com/share) ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/May-2015/040l.png)SEX ED POLITICS-A judge in Fresno County, California, has ruled against an abstinence-only sex education program, saying a school district violated state law by failing to provide adequate instruction on sexual health and HIV prevention. Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald Black said a lawsuit against Clovis Unified School District was justified because the district failed to offer "comprehensive, medically accurate, objective and bias-free" education, in violation of the [California Comprehensive Sexual Health & HIV/AIDS Prevention Act](http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/%20), adopted in 2003. The law requires public schools to "provide a pupil with the knowledge and skills necessary to protect his or her sexual and reproductive health from unintended pregnancy and STDs." "Given the high social cost of teen pregnancy and similar toll on society of HIV/ADIS \[sic\] and other sexually transmitted diseases, the rights vindicated by this suit, access to medically, and socially appropriate sexual education, is an important public right," Black wrote. "We continue to be confident that the District acted appropriately and that our former 9th grade curriculum was unbiased, more than 'abstinence only,' and legally compliant; and that the issues raised in plaintiffs’ litigation were not accurate," Kelly Avants, Clovis Unified's chief communication officer, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. "We are currently considering whether to pursue an appeal of Judge Black’s ruling." The suit, filed by a group of Clovis parents in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union, alleged that the school district primarily used abstinence-oriented materials and did not properly educate students about contraception. The suit also accused the district of using instructional videos biased against LGBT individuals, as well as a video that compared a non-virgin woman with a "dirty shoe." At least one video used by the district had been cited by the state Department of Education as unsuitable "due to medical inaccuracies." {module \[1177\]} Black's ruling reads: *Plaintiffs claim that the District approved and used a variety of "egregiously inaccurate and biased videos," including Sex still has a Price Tag and No Apologies: The Truth about Life, Love and Sex; in 2007 it engaged an outside agency, Teen Choices, Inc., to provide instruction in intermediate school using a curriculum that was "replete with inaccurate, biased, and outdated information"; it approved another agency, the Pregnancy Care Center, to provide instruction despite the fact that its instructors did not have the required expertise in comprehensive sexual health education, and as it representative later admitted its presentation did not meet the requirements of the Act; and it adopted textbooks that failed to mention condoms or other contraception.* The parents filed suit in 2012, but dropped the case in 2014 after the school changed its policies. Black, however, ordered the school district to pay for the parents' legal fees, citing the legal action as the catalyst for change in the district. As the[ San Francisco Chronicle notes](http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Judge-Abstinence-only-curriculum-is-not-sex-6256481.php), the ruling only applies to the Clovis district. However, as the first legal opinion on the 2003 law, the order may set a precedent for other schools. "Teens deserve complete, accurate health information, which they'll need at whatever point in their life they become sexually active," Phyllida Burlingame, of the ACLU of Northern California, said Monday in a statement. "This ruling is huge victory for students." **[Read the full ruling here.](https://www.aclunc.org/sites/default/files/Clovis_Ruling_05_04_2015.pdf)** *(Mollie Reilly is deputy politics editor at [The Huffington Post](http://huffingtonpost.com) where this report was first posted.)* -cw CityWatch Vol 13 Issue 40 Pub: May 15, 2015 [![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/ME%20DENTAL%20SPA/me%20dental%202026%20final.jpg)](http://medentalspa.com/) ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png) ## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays Website [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)") [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2") --- ## Featured CityWatch Stories [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/fd/064h-fdb0b507.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) ### [Remembering Ken Draper: CityWatch and Transparency Are his Legacy](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29355:remembering-ken-draper-citywatch-and-transparency-are-his-legacy&catid=12) LA WATCHDOG - Ken Draper, the editor and publisher of CityWatch for more than 20 years, passed away on August 8, 2022… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/0f/061a-0f1ada2f.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) ### [Brace Yourself For A Worse Housing Crisis](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33148:brace-yourself-for-a-worse-housing-crisis&catid=398) PLANNING WATCH - The California State Legislature will soon vote on the following draft legislation. Please carefully… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/54/064j-54f0ecbd.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33204:be-prepared-to-protect-our-democracy-in-november-from-a-trumpian-plot&catid=9) ### [Be Prepared to Protect Our Democracy in November From a Trumpian Plot](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33204:be-prepared-to-protect-our-democracy-in-november-from-a-trumpian-plot&catid=9) BE AWARE - Back in the days when conservatives were so hungry for media platforms that they’d come on progressive shows… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/ab/063e-ab3b1ba1.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33174:nithya-raman-loses-the-homelessness-gavel-her-record-explains-why&catid=396) ### [Nithya Raman Loses the Homelessness Gavel — Her Record Explains Why](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33174:nithya-raman-loses-the-homelessness-gavel-her-record-explains-why&catid=396) THE BOTTOM LINE - Raman wants Los Angeles voters to promote her to mayor. Before handing her the keys to City Hall, v… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/75/064a-75d5dbb3.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33199:your-boss-owns-your-workday-not-your-brain&catid=425) ### [Your Boss Owns Your Workday—Not Your Brain](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33199:your-boss-owns-your-workday-not-your-brain&catid=425) THE NEURAL WORKPLACE - California must protect workers before workplace surveillance crosses the final frontier: the hu… --- ## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/034e.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16) ### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18755:tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people&catid=16) ### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17690:anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete&catid=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/033j.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Jan-2016/1404d.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)