Montgomery Starts Sex-Ed Pilot Program

Three CRC leaders with protest signs stood outside Argyle Middle at dismissal yesterday. One sign read, "Health before politics."

Opposition centers on passages, mostly from the more candid high-school curriculum, that describe gay, lesbian and transgender people "celebrat[ing] their self-discovery" and transsexuals choosing sexual reassignment surgery to "match how they feel."

Others in the relatively liberal Montgomery community thought the curriculum did not go far enough in reaching out to students who might be struggling with their sexual identity.

Almost forgotten is the infamous "cucumber video," in which a youthful health educator unrolls a condom onto a cucumber. It has been replaced by a clinical video that has raised comparatively little ire.

Betsy Brown, director of curriculum in the Montgomery school system and lead author of the sex-ed program, said much of the new content had to be written "from scratch" because it only existed in obscure supplements to mainstream textbooks.

Leaders of the main opposition group said the launch of the curriculum caught them off guard but will not alter their strategy. They had hoped for a stay from the state before the curriculum was introduced in classrooms. Bill Reinhard, spokesman for the state board, said no ruling would be made before Friday. John Garza, CRC president, said he had heard members of the state school board were waiting for more information about what would happen to students who choose to opt out of the new lessons, and he took that as a hopeful sign.

Four students opted out of yesterday's class by default because they had forgotten to return required permission forms, said Principal Debra Mugge. They were led to another classroom and taught an alternative lesson titled "Dealing With Negative Emotions."

Judy Stocky, mother of Luke, said she lost no sleep over the decision to send him to health class.

"I think the class is good," she said. "Maybe it's going to teach these children how to exist together."