Minnesota’s students deserve better than “comprehensive” sex education (CSE) in their K-12 classrooms, and yet, there is once again a push to mandate it throughout the state. Representative Sydney Jordan recently introduced H.F. 358, a bill that would require the development and implementation of a CSE curriculum in K-12 schools. The bill is expected to pass the House Education Policy Committee during tomorrow’s hearing, though there is a chance it could be tabled.

There isn’t one set definition for CSE, but in general, CSE includes information and classroom discussion on gender identity, sexual expression, sex practices, and abortion access. Examples of CSE curriculum which have been proposed or adopted have included programs that begin sex-ed in kindergarten, lessons designed for middle-schoolers involving sexual role-playing, detailed descriptions of sexual acts, and a book called It’s Perfectly Normal, with illustrations so explicit that they were censored by Facebook.

While Representative Jordan’s bill does not stipulate the exact curriculum that would be used if state-wide mandate for CSE were adopted, It’s Perfectly Normal is already being used in a number of MN schools. Furthermore, looking at the radical curriculum that has been adopted and proposed elsewhere in the country, there is good reason to be concerned about the explicit nature of CSE.

Proponents of CSE have argued that it is necessary in order to “arm kids with the facts” and prevent risky sexual behavior in adolescents. However, the American College of Pediatricians points out,

The school-based SRR (CSE) model targets the general teen population, rather than focusing on an individual intervention for those who are actually engaged in the risk behavior. This is a significant difference from the typical risk reduction model. The sexual risk reduction approach should focus on adolescents in school who are already sexually active, but instead is applied to the broader teen population. This sends the false message that “everyone is doing it”, which has the negative effect of normalizing teen sex as an expected standard for all students...The school-based SRR (CSE) model claims success even when teens are still participating in behaviors that place them at significant risk.

Similarly, Family Research Council’s Cathy Ruse wrote last year that,

A major new study reveals failure rates as high as 87 percent for school-based sex ed programs. Even worse, some programs actually result in increased sexual activity, increased number of sex partners, and increased sexual experimentation by students.

By exposing all students to material about risky behavior, instead of just students who are actually engaging in that behavior, CSE normalizes these behaviors by sending the message that “everyone is doing it.”

What is even more troubling is that the message that “everyone’s doing it” may not be unintentional. Past efforts to implement CSE in Minnesota received glowing praise from Planned Parenthood, which bills itself as the largest provider of sex ed in Minnesota and nationally. Former Planned Parenthood worker Abby Johnson has warned that Planned Parenthood’s interest in expanding CSE is an intentional effort to encourage students not to turn to their parents when navigating difficult situations, but to turn to Planned Parenthood instead.

At the encouragement of organizations like Planned Parenthood, sexually explicit content is being ushered into children’s classrooms even though the evidence does not demonstrate that it is an effective risk reduction strategy. However, there is evidence that exposure to pornographic media at a young age has the effect of desensitizing children, resulting in a higher likelihood that they will try to act out what they have seen. According to the American College of Pediatricians, children who are exposed to sexually explicit material at a young age more likely to engage in sex early and more likely to engage in risky acts. Furthermore, it has been documented that sexual predators groom children by exposing them to sexually explicit imagery.

Children in Minnesota deserve better than to be exposed to sexually explicit imagery and role-playing of sexual scenarios in their classrooms. Tell your representative to vote against H.F. 358!