Very few attend meeting on sex-ed bill

TOOELE — On a sultry summer evening in Tooele, almost no one wanted to talk about sex.

Planned Parenthood Action Council officials were disappointed with the turnout of their town hall meeting to talk about a proposed sex education curriculum bill.

"I wish more people were here," said Melissa Bird, the council's executive director.

Only four people showed up: three officials from Tooele School District and a nurse from the Tooele County Health Department.

"It's a concern to us," said Terry Linares, Tooele district superintendent. "We have young mothers here. We have teens in our schools who have some of these issues."

The latest version of the sex-ed bill, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Hemingway, D-Salt Lake, allows parents to choose between two health classes. One course would be abstinence-based and teach strategies for waiting until marriage but also offer information about issues such as sexually transmitted diseases. The other class would emphasize abstinence but also offer facts including STD prevention and contraceptive options.

The three district officials said they are open-minded toward the bill, but they also said they left the meeting with more questions than answers.

"You have certainly created a lot of questions," said Dan Johnson, secondary education director for Tooele District.

District officials want to see more data and statistics, information on what other states are doing and a copy of the bill.

The three district officials declined to give their opinion on the bill until they learned more.

"It's easy for people to say one thing, but I want to see all of the data so I can analyze it in a statistical manner," said Ken Luke, assistant superintendent for the Tooele district.

Planned Parenthood Action Council officials plan to have more town hall meetings in other cities, including in Murray, West Valley City, Logan and Cedar City. The council's goal is to educate the public, gather opinions and launch discussions on how the issue of STDs and teen pregnancies affect the community.

"We cannot afford to have a head-in-the-sand policy," Bird said.

The council is hoping for better attendance at future town hall meetings, she said.

State Office of Education rule, in accordance with Utah law, states that educators may instruct on contraception options with prior parental consent.

However, some teens, education officials and lawmakers say students are not getting adequate sex education because teachers are afraid of being accused of advocating sex. They contend that educators are therefore erring on the side of caution by eliminating important information.

"The way the law is written right now is so vague," Bird said. "Teachers don't know what they can say and discuss with young people. They are terrified of losing their job."

Hemingway's legislation aims to allow educators to instruct students on birth control options "without fear of reprimand." His bill is modeled after one in North Carolina.

For more information on the Planned Parenthood Action Council and the bill, visit preventionnowutah.org.

e-mail: astewart@desnews.com