Remember that kid in school who forgot to turn in his permission slip and totally missed out on the best field trip of the year? Perhaps you were the one who absent-mindedly neglected to get parental consent and watched in sorrow as your classmates boarded a bus to “learn physics” (read: go to Six Flags, fudge some numbers on the worksheet and ride Raging Bull many, many times). Chances are, we all know someone who missed out on an opportunity because of a forgotten permission slip.
This situation parallels a potential problem for Cedarburg ninth graders should they forget to turn in their permission slips by Nov. 1. Only for them, the stakes are higher than a missed trip to the zoo or planetarium. Under the new “opt in” provision, the Cedarburg School District now requires its students to get parental permission to receive sex education in topics such as intercourse, contraception, abortion, homosexuality and masturbation. Not only does this rule unnecessarily complicate the process of obtaining comprehensive sex education, it circumvents a law already in place that ensures access to instruction proven most effective in preventing STIs and teen pregnancy.
To clarify, last February, Jim Doyle signed legislation to guarantee Wisconsin students access to “medically accurate and comprehensive” sex education via the Healthy Youth Act. This meant that some schools had to switch from abstinence-only education to sex education that incorporates information about contraception as well as the risks of sexual activity, including sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. This legislation is a step in the right direction, as it recognizes the importance of educating a sexually active population. According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2009, 46 percent of high school students had engaged in sexual intercourse, illustrating that for many high school students, abstinence-only education is not practical. Doyle wisely recognized the Importance of sex education, but this legislation is only effective as long it is actually followed.
The Cedarburg case illustrates that some of the population is not yet convinced of the necessity of sex education. If the Cedarburg School District truly had its students best interests as a top priority – or at least believed in obeying the law- it would recognize the importance of arming its students with information to protect themselves against dangerous sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.
There is no reason to place any obstacles in place to prevent students from getting education mandated by law, even if that “obstacle” is something as simple as turning in a permission slip. While many high school students are responsible, others are absented-minded, flaky or just looking for a way to get out of class. I can just imagine the kids who will “forget” to turn in their forms – “Oh shoot! I forgot to turn in my permission slip! I guess I’ll have to sit this one out. See ya later, suckas!” How many of you can honestly say you would have done the responsible thing as a ninth grader inside of exploiting the system for a “get out of class free” card?
By enrolling in a public school in Wisconsin, students automatically “opt in” for comprehensive sex education under the Healthy Youth Act. If parents have a problem with this sort of education, they should consider enrolling in a private school whose ideology and education matches their own world view. Either that, or schools can do what Cedarburg High School used to do and offer an “opt out” option for those with extreme aversion to sex education. That way, there is less potential for students to miss out on important information that could make their lives safer.
This incident is just another example of the institutional barriers that prevent young people from making informed decisions. Wisconsin can do better than this. We can only hope that the recent threat of a lawsuit from the State Department of Public Instruction is enough to deter other schools from installing this same loophole into their health curriculum.
Holly Hartung ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in communication arts and journalism.
