Wednesday, April 7, 2010

WI: DA Threatens To Arrest Sex Ed Teachers

rhrealitycheck.org: Wisconsin DA Threatens To Arrest Sex Ed Teachers.
jsonline.com: Juneau County DA warns districts on sex ed law.

Imagine your school district gets a letter from the district attorney threatening to arrest and charge teachers for teaching a curriculum approved by the state legislature for contributing to the “delinquency of a minor.” Pretty shocking, huh? Well that’s exactly what happened in Wisconsin.

Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth sent a letter to five school districts that stated Wisconsin’s new sex education curriculum -- which passed in February -- is “illegal, and could lead to charges against teachers.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

The new law "promotes the sexualization - and sexual assault - of our children," Southworth wrote in a March 24 letter to officials in five school districts. He urged the districts to suspend their sex education programs and transfer their curriculum on anatomy to a science course.

"Forcing our schools to instruct children on how to utilize contraceptives encourages our children to engage in sexual behavior, whether as a victim or an offender," he wrote. "It is akin to teaching children about alcohol use, then instructing them on how to make mixed alcoholic drinks."

"If a teacher instructs any student aged 16 or younger how to utilize contraceptives under circumstances where the teacher knows the child is engaging in sexual activity with another child - or even where the 'natural and probable consequences' of the teacher's instruction is to cause that child to engage in sexual intercourse with a child - that teacher can be charged under this statute" of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, he wrote.

He said the law went too far because it required teachers not to teach students about the effects of birth control, but on how to properly use them, "which turns objective instruction into implicit encouragement and advocacy."