Textbook Guidelines That Include Gays OKd : Education: Board approves framework that includes a discussion of alternative lifestyles while stressing sexual abstinence for teen-agers.
SACRAMENTO — The state Board of Education on Friday approved textbook guidelines that include a discussion of homosexuality and alternative lifestyles, while stressing sexual abstinence for teen-agers.
The board unanimously approved the Comprehensive Health Framework, which serves as a guide for California’s 1,000-plus school districts to improve health education, make students and teachers more sensitive to health issues, and encourage youngsters to make healthy decisions regarding their lives. It includes suggestions on counseling, drug abuse and family stress.
The 114-page report, the result of two years of study, is a “leadership document” that advises districts. They decide whether to adopt the proposals, said Glen Thomas, a health curriculum expert with the state Department of Education.
“The point is to make schools safer and healthier places,” he said. “The framework includes various strands of traditional health instruction--such as physical education, health services, nutrition, counseling, parent and community organizations, staff health promotion and staff wellness.”
It also serves as a guide for textbook publishers targeting the lucrative California market.
“It’s a terrific victory,” said Jessea Greenman of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. “It’s a great step forward. They adopted a framework that includes specific mention of lesbian and gay students and specifies that we are part of the community to be served. It breaks the conspiracy of silence.”
The framework generated controversy this year when critics, including some religious groups, contended that it suggested that homosexuality was acceptable. But the language in the document was reworked in October and the final form appeared to stir little controversy.
“We are quite pleased with the abstinence emphasis and the pro-family position that this framework includes,” said the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition.
