All information contained in this book is correct as far as can be ascertained by the author. Readers are cautioned to check the status of their own State and local laws with regard to school education regulations.
The author is not engaged in the practice of law and no part of this book should be construed as giving legal advice. On questions pertaining to the legal practice, readers are encouraged to get information and advice from lawyers licensed to practice in your area.
During the course of this book many derogatory references are made to school administration and teaching staff. It should be understood that references are made to these people as a general category. No criticism is intended of any specific individual. We acknowledge the fact that many school administrators and teachers are dedicated individuals who have the best interest of the children at heart. In fact, in many school districts, teachers and school administrators have been supportive of parents activities to change offensive policies. To these dedicated people we apologize for any problems caused by our general characterizations.
Parents should determine which teachers and administrators, in each school district, are supportive and which fall in the characterizations contained in this book.
As will be explained in the Introduction and the first chapter, this book incorporates a religious basis for fighting offensive programs in the school. Since the author is a Christian, the book describes a Christian approach. I make no apologies for this. Neither do I claim that Christians have an exclusivity on fighting for the minds and souls of their children. Readers of non-Christian faiths should substitute their own doctrine in place of the Christian ones expressed. With this substitution, Jews, Moslems and all non-Christians should find here a powerful tool to help turn around the American school system.
Due to the nature of the sex ed programs being examined, some of this book is not appropriate for reading by children and young teens. Parents are urged to exercise discretion in sharing this book with youngsters.
This book is intended to help parents take control of their school systems and restore the high quality education that was once a trademark of American Education. It presents detailed information on what other parents, around the country, have done to successfully drive out the negative influences.
The negative influences include all those people who see schools as fertile ground to implement social engineering programs. These programs take many forms including: the "dumbing" of textbooks; the introduction of "revisionist history"; and the inclusion of offensive curricula in the form of sex education, death education or similar programs.
This book was originally published under the title: HOW TO FIGHT PLANNED PARENTHOOD SEX EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOLS ...AND WIN! It has been used by many parents in the United States and other countries to stop the flood of offensive sex education. Many parents, however, pointed out that the techniques used were not unique to fighting offensive sex education programs. As a result, we have revised parts of the book and re-published under the current title to better represent the true usefulness of the techniques described.
Because of its origins, PARENT POWER!! still contains a great deal of information on fighting offensive sex education programs. Readers fighting this type of program will still find this a complete documentation on how to carry on the fight. Readers who are fighting other programs in the school, can skim chapters 3, 7 and 11 and concentrate on the remaining parts of the book to gain information on how to conduct a successful fight against ANY school program.
We firmly believe that a good public school education system is possible. We acknowledge, however, that what actually happens in the schools is the responsibility of the PARENTS. For too many years we have allowed the professional educators and vocal minorities to take our educational system down the drain. We have stood by and watched as achievement scores have fallen and the social engineering programs have taken over. It's time to fight back.
Parents can make a difference. You do have the ability to conquer over seemingly impossible odds and take control of your schools. You need only decide it is worth the effort and then ACT. This book will give you all you need to begin the successful fight against offensive programs in your schools. But, YOU must decide your children are worth the effort. Thousands of parents are already being successful in the effort. We welcome you and are ready to help.
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A DEFINITION OF "SEX ED". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WHY YOU SHOULD BE INVOLVED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW, YOUR RIGHT TO ACT. CHAPTER . . . . . . . . . . .
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. WHY DO SCHOOLS TEACH SEX ED? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. SCHOOL DISTRICT #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. SCHOOL DISTRICT #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. SCHOOL DISTRICT #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7. PLANNED PARENTHOOD SEX EDUCATION PHILOSOPHIES . . . . . . . . . . .
8. SCHOOL DISTRICTS #4 & 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9. SCHOOL DISTRICT #6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10. SCHOOL DISTRICT #7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11. SPECIFIC PLANNED PARENTHOOD SEX EDUCATION PROGRAMS. . . . . . . . .
12. SUMMARY OF ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO DEFEAT PP SEX EDUCATION PROGRAMS
ACTION CHECKLIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13. CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
APPENDIX A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
APPENDIX B HUMANISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This book is written to assist parents in fighting offensive programs, including Planned Parenthood type sex education, in public schools. It is the result of lessons learned by STOPP (Stop Planned Parenthood, Inc.) in real life struggles in many school districts. This is NOT a theoretical treatise. In this book you will find tactics and techniques which have been demonstrated to be effective in winning the battle against offensive education programs.
In this introductory section, we will spend a little time to get the preliminaries out of the way. First, we will tell you what this book is not intended to do. Then we will discuss the types of programs we are talking of when we use the term "sexed." Finally, we will give you the basis for your being involved in this struggle and the overriding considerations which must be part of your actions.
This book is NOT intended to be a history of the sex education or social engineering movement in the United States (for this discussion we recommend the book SEX EDUCATION - THE FINAL PLAGUE by Randy Engel), nor is it intended to give you an education in the reasons for rejecting all school sex education programs (for information on this we recommend WHAT'S WRONG WITH SEX EDUCATION by Melvin Anchell, M.D.). Although it will be beneficial for you to be familiar with both these topics, it is simply beyond the means of this book to provide this detailed information.
This book is not intended to encourage parents to fight educational programs which fall under the general heading of Biology. In typical Biology or Biological Health Science courses, students are taught the scientific functions of the reproductive systems in the context of learning about the scientific functions of other bodily systems (such as the Circulatory System and the Respiratory System). We see this as legitimate scientific education.
Finally, this book makes no attempt to describe how to fight offensive education programs in non-public schools. Although this subject will be of interest to many parents, removing sex ed and other programs from private or parochial schools presents a whole different set of circumstances than is found in the public school arena and the specific actions depend on a wide variety of variables.
STOPP is available to work directly with parents in both public and non-public school fights over sex education. You can reach STOPP's Headquarters on 914-473-3316. You are also invited to write for further information and assistance to STOPP, P.O. Box 8, LaGrangeville, NY 12540.
As noted in the Preface, this book was originally directed solely at fighting offensive sex education programs. Although it is acknowledged the techniques can be used to fight any type of offensive program, the book still is primarily directed at the fight against "sex ed." SEX ED is a general term used in this book to describe a wide range of programs which try to impart graphic and detailed sexual information to our children. SEX ED has, through the years, been called a number of different things: "Sex Education," "Sexuality Education," "Family Life Education" and "Human Growth and Development" are just a few of the labels that have been put on, essentially, the same curriculum.
Of particular concern, in this book, is all classroom SEX ED programs, regardless of their formal name, WHICH CONTAIN A "PREGNANCY PREVENTION", OR FAMILY PLANNING, COMPONENT AND/OR ATTACK THE NATURAL MODESTY OF CHILDREN. This is the type of sex ed program that Planned Parenthood considers essential and the ones it pushes in seminars for teachers and administrators throughout the country.
With this definition in mind, it can be seen that many of the so-called "AIDS Education" programs throughout the country are nothing more than Planned Parenthood sex ed in disguise. This is also true of many "Child Abuse Prevention Programs." The real insidiousness of most of these programs is their insistence on a "comprehensive" approach. "Comprehensive" simply means that, instead of being limited to a particular class or lecture, these sex ed programs are planned to be part of lessons in many different subjects.
There has been a growth in "pro-chastity" or "pro-abstinence" educational programs. Although some of these programs offer sound information and are better than the Planned Parenthood approach, they suffer from the same basic flaw. That flaw is the fact that sex education is a personal issue and the proper sex education for a child is dependent on the actual mental maturity of the child. It is simply impossible to teach sex ed to a class of 20 or 30 children and have the material appropriate for the mental maturity of all the children.
Planned Parenthood has been able to have laws passed in a number of states requiring sex education in the classroom. In those states, parents will want to use this book to fight the offensive sex education programs and substitute "pro-abstinence" education until such times as the laws can be changed. In states where no such laws exist, parents are encouraged to get all sex education removed from their schools and to guard against the passage of mandatory sex ed laws.
With all of the above caveats and our definition of sex ed in mind, it is the premise of this book that THERE ARE NO GOOD CLASSROOM SEX EDUCATION PROGRAMS! All such programs must be actively opposed by parents and must be removed from every public school in the nation.
The fight against Planned Parenthood sex ed, and many other offensive programs, is one in which you are literally fighting for the minds and souls of your children. You must understand that, in fighting sex ed, you are taking on, even if indirectly, the Planned Parenthood empire. In his wonderful book on the history of Planned Parenthood (GRAND ILLUSIONS), author George Grant observes that "The fight against Planned Parenthood is a religious battle." In this we heartily agree.
From the beginning, STOPP has insisted that all its struggles against Planned Parenthood are based on a belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. The sex education battle is no different. In all the sex ed struggles in which we have been involved, it is those that are carried on by people motivated by their Faith that have ultimately seen success. It is with this in mind that you must begin your entry into the sex ed battle in your community.
This reference to religious convictions does NOT mean, as your opponents will claim, that you are trying to inflict your religious values on the rest of the community. We will treat this subject in detail in Chapter 1.
When entering this struggle, then, we ask that you take time to pray and to ask God for guidance and, especially, for Wisdom in dealing with your schools. Praying for Wisdom from the Holy Spirit is something that will be particularly necessary as you sit down to read the texts and pamphlets used in your schools. It is through His grace that you will be able to spot those objectionable parts of the material and to know that teaching this trash is not right. You must know that you are doing what God wants and that you are willing to make the sacrifices demanded for HIM.
Many school administrators, and others reading this book, will object to us characterizing the effort to get offensive programs changed in your schools as a "fight." They call this inflammatory rhetoric and have frequently implored us to "tone down" our language. Claiming that, in doing so, they would be more willing to reach a compromise. Well, our language is built on years of actual experience in many school districts. What we have witnessed is, indeed, a "fight." To use other words would be to give you, our concerned parent reader, a misrepresentation of the struggle in which you are getting involved. This will indeed be a "fight." One which will tax your stamina and test your willingness to be a "soldier for Christ." But one which you can and will win, if only you will be persistent.
As STOPP has worked with community after community, we have come to one conclusion: You CAN make a difference in your community. You can make the schools less of a threat to the minds and souls of your's and your neighbor's children. All it takes is a Faith in God, a resolve to do His will, and a knowledge of how to go about the fight. We can do nothing to give you the first two. But, if you have the Faith and the resolve, then his book will give you the knowledge. We pray that you will find it useful......
A natural question at the beginning of this struggle with your local school system is "What are my rights?" As a parent with children in the school district what can I do? As a local taxpayer, with no children in the schools, what are my rights?
The public school education system in the United States is funded with dollars taken from the taxpayer. In most school districts, area residents pay school taxes- whether or not they have children in the schools. Even if there is not a separately identifiable local school tax, millions of dollars in state and federal monies are spent on school programs. Thus, anything that happens in the schools is funded, in some degree, by the citizens of the community.
Every citizen of the community, therefore, has a right to know on what their money is being spent. In practice, it is usually easier for a parent of a school child to gain access to the school administration and to the school facilities. Thus, parents are an essential part of any fight. People who do not have children in the schools should not be discouraged from entering the struggle. They can have many roles with the school board, media, and the community which will free parents to deal with the day-to-day school activities.
Those states that have "open meeting laws" have held that school districts, because they are publicly funded, are subject to the provisions of those laws. School districts are also subject to "Freedom of Information" laws that allow people access to detailed reports, applications for funds, and other such documents. This recognition of the public nature of schools is the basis for you to ask for, and to receive, detailed information on the nature of sex ed programs in your schools. If the schools were to deny you this information, they would be denying your basic rights established by the courts and, therefore, would open themselves up for possible lawsuits. Most school districts do not want this.
You will find, however, that many school districts, while appearing to adhere to the letter of the law, will make it difficult and inconvenient for you to obtain information. This does not effect your RIGHT to the information, only your ability to get it. A mother in one of the school districts, in which we were involved, resorted to "camping out" in the superintendent's office from 9 to 5 for three days in a row. Finally, the superintendent ordered his staff to give the mother what she wanted. Another mother, in a different school district, set up several meetings with school personnel only to find, on arriving at the school, that there had been an "emergency," which required the meeting be postponed, and the school had been unable to contact her in time. After several such incidents, the mother was able to have the meeting and get the information she wanted.
Many school personnel sincerely believe that THEY know, better than parents, how best to educate your children. They will tell you to "trust" the school and leave the education to them. Unfortunately, almost every study of public school education in the United States has come to the conclusion that our children are not being educated effectively. Perhaps it is time that parents stopped leaving the education of the children to these "professional educators" and become actively involved in the process. There are many who believe "parents couldn't do much worse!"
All citizens of the community have a RIGHT to know what the schools are teaching. In fact, you have a Christian duty to find out what is being taught and to ensure it does not undermine your Christian beliefs (non-Christians have similar obligations with regards to their own faiths).
What more appropriate areas for parents to become involved than in those where the schools have begun to teach the humanistic concepts of personal behavior (for readers unfamiliar with the concepts of Humanism, we have included as Appendix B some comments on this subject). It is in just these areas that parents have the most concern because these areas will effect the basic moral beliefs of their children. Of course, it is just the fact that parents are so intimately concerned with these areas of education that leads to the most vicious attacks on parents who dare to exercise their rights.
If you are going to become involved in this battle, you should be aware of two arguments which will be used against you. We will guarantee that you will, at one time or another (and probably more than once), have to deal with both these arguments. It is important that you spend a little time at the beginning to consider these arguments and believe that you have the correct answer, within yourself, for each. It is not important that you be able to convince others, only that you, your-self, know the truth and are willing to state it. To this end, let's explore both these arguments.
This is the most frequently used, and most effective, argument of the Planned Parenthood sex ed supporters. It is effective NOT because it is true, but because many otherwise steadfast parents will listen to this argument and stop fighting. If you are to be effective in this battle, you must confront this argument head on.
First of all, this argument implies that a school sex ed program can be devised which is totally value free. It is clear that you cannot have a "value free" program about such a value laden subject as sex. If it is not value free, then someone's values must be taught. If you have not yet reviewed Appendix B, now would be a good time to do so. From the statements in the Humanist Manifesto, it can be shown that today's sex ed programs are filled with Atheistic Humanist values. So, the real objection of the proponents of sex ed is not that you may be advocating a program which contains values, the real objection is that you may be advocating a program which teaches values different from the values THEY want to teach your children!
Schools should reflect the values of the community. Despite what your opponents will claim, most people in your community support the same types of values that you do. Most people do not want their children taught that pornography is good, that group masturbation is normal, or that sex with animals is a natural expression of sexual desires. These, and other, more offensive, items, have been found in numerous sex ed texts and films. It is with confidence then, that you should go to your community, if necessary, with your concerns about your school's sex ed program.
Of course, the real problem with this first argument used by supporters of Planned Parenthood type sex ed programs is that it actually turns the situation around. Unless you are in one of the few states that mandates sex ed in the schools, you will be fighting to get sex ed taken completely out of your schools, NOT to have different values taught. It is important for you to put the sex ed programs on the defensive. Make the supporters of these programs prove they are doing what they claim. Despite fifteen years of these programs, Planned Parenthood has no documented study that shows that the programs are effective at reducing either teen sexual activity or teen pregnancy! In fact, several studies (including one published in the Wall Street Journal on October 14, 1986) have indicated that these programs increase teen sexual activity. This is not surprising since the advocates of these programs frequently profess that there is nothing wrong with teen sex. So, it is truly the sex ed proponents, not you, who are trying to force their values on the community.
You should understand, then, that you are not trying to force your personal values on anyone. You are doing what is right. You are standing up for your children and insisting that your school not pursue its own agenda, but truly reflect the wishes of the community that pays the bills for the courses and the salaries of the school personnel. You are, as a matter of fact, simply exercising your rights. Do not let any sex ed supporter dissuade you from this critical task.
This is another of the sex ed promoters favorite decoys. Somehow they believe that you will think your children will be safe from the influences of their immoral program if the children are absent from the class for an hour or so each day. In putting forth this argument, they think you will overlook several pertinent facts:
1) They think that you will not realize that the school will go to great lengths to call attention to your child's absence from the class. In one school district, the child was forced to attend the beginning of his fifth grade sex ed class period for "attendance." Then, after the attendance was taken, the whole class paused while the child was asked to take his belongings and go outside the class. There was no alternate program provided and the child was left to wander the halls or go to the library during the class time. The emotional toll on the child thus forced to be different from his peers was predictable.
2) They think that you will not understand that their cohorts in the school will go to great lengths to intimidate the students. In another school district, fifteen children were taken out of a fifth grade sex ed class by their parents. With such a large number, the school was forced to set up an alternate class. This removed the stigma of being different. Parents were understandably upset, then, when each of the children was called separately into an administrator's office and interrogated about why they were not taking the sex ed class. A common question asked to the children was, "Did your parents force you out of the regular Family Life Education program?"
3) They actually think that you will somehow overlook the fact that the sex ed proponents are pushing "comprehensive" programs where sex ed is not just treated as a separate course, but is integrated in such subjects as Physical Education (Gym), Home Economics, Social Studies, Health, and Mathematics. In one school district's Health curriculum, there was an identifiable six week sex ed curriculum given around February of each school year. When parents objected to the program, they were met with the line: "just take your kids out." The parents had the wisdom to read the entire Health curriculum and found that many classes given later in the year instructed teachers to use things taught in the sex ed course as examples. Thus, even if the parents had removed their children for six weeks, over the course of the year the kids would have been exposed to most of the garbage anyway!
4) It seems that these proponents of sex ed actually believe they can convince you that your children grow up in a vacuum. They expect that you will overlook the fact that your sons or daughters will be dating other children who have been taught, in these sex ed courses, that premarital sex is okay, or that it is "safe" to engage in mutual stimulation of the genitals with persons of the opposite sex (or same sex), or that talking your girl friend into taking dangerous birth control drugs (the pill) is a "responsible" thing to do.
You, of course, are aware of the deceit these sex ed proponents are practicing (that's why you are reading this book in the first place). You know that the only sure way to protect your children is to get these sex ed programs out of the school altogether. So, for these reasons, alone, you have every right to find out what is in your school and to act to get the offensive programs removed. It is your duty as a parent!
As a Christian, you have an even greater duty. Jesus told you to "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27) With this clear instruction, you cannot take action to protect your own children without at least trying to also protect your neighbor's children. You may not always succeed. STOPP has been involved in some school districts that are so devoid of Christian principles that the majority of the parents had actually bought the humanistic line. In this case, Christian parents had to take the action they felt necessary to protect their children while listening to Christ's instruction: "If anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town (authors note: or SCHOOL), shake the dust from your feet." (Matthew 10:14) But, you MUST, at least, TRY.
There you have it. It is clear that you have the RIGHT to know what is going on in your schools. This is true if your children are going to be taught in the schools, but even true if you have no children in the schools. Since your tax money is being used to run the schools, you actually have a DUTY to ensure that your money is being spent wisely and for wholesome programs. This is a citizenship issue. As a citizen of your community, you have the right and the duty to work to influence what happens in your town and in your schools.
The only question that remains is "Are YOU going to do what is right, or are you going to take the easy way out?" I'm sure that you will do what is right. You have already taken the first step by buying this book and reading this far. You know that there are things happening in your community that you can no longer sit back and watch happen. You are already concerned. You now know your feelings of concern and your desire to DO SOMETHING are justified. It is with confidence, then, that you pray to God for guidance and wisdom, and you turn the page to learn more about how your school system works and what you can do to effectively fight the evil sex ed programs.......
Before you can begin to explore what is going on in your schools and how to get any offensive programs corrected, you must understand how your school system works. Although there are some variations in school operation in different parts of the Country, the following outline will give you the basis from which to operate. Minor variations in local districts can be quickly uncovered and you can then alter your approach accordingly. So let's look at the structure that represents a great many school districts in the United States:
1) THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - The Federal Government of the United States does not exert any real control over the day-to-day operation of your schools. Although there is a Secretary of Education at the Federal level, the Secretary essentially develops strategies for education in the United States. It is the Secretary's job to establish the strategic direction for education; to advocate particular programs of study; and to secure Congressional funding, which will help achieve these long term strategies. With the monies so provided, there are courses and books developed which are made available to the states for use in their schools. The Federal Government does not run any schools (other than for government employees -such as those on military bases, or the Service Academies).
2) THE STATE LEGISLATURE - The authority to run the public school system in your State comes from your State Legislature. It is at this State level that laws are passed which establish what type of educational system you will have and how local school systems are to be structured. It is possible for the State Legislature to dictate what can or cannot be taught in the schools. The State of Utah, for example, currently has a State Law which outlaws the teaching of "pregnancy prevention" in any public schools. The State of New Jersey, on the other hand, has long required sex education for grades K through 12. Planned Parenthood is well aware of the power of state legislatures and has a campaign to get K-12 sex education, as well as school based clinics, mandated by the legislatures of every state in the Country.
3) THE BOARD OF REGENTS - In most states, the State Legislature has established a committee of people to oversee the operation of the school system. This committee is normally called the Board of Regents. Since the State Legislature is not in session full time, the Regents are charged with setting the educational policy for the state and advising the Legislature on the appropriate funding and expenditures for the school system. The Regents cannot act contrary to state regulations, but are generally given a wide leeway in their activities. The Regents meet on a periodic basis (usually monthly) to set policy and approve the actions proposed by the state department of education.
4) THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT (SED)- The SED is established by the Legis-lature and its employees are employees of the State. Their purpose is to implement the policies of the Board of Regents and provide a full time staff to assist the school districts of the state. They also handle any citizen complaints against the school districts.
The SED is headed by a Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner has powers as established by the Legislature. He is a full time employee and is assisted by a full time staff.
It is apparent that Planned Parenthood has worked hard to get people who support its philosophies onto the staff of the SED. This is readily identifiable in New York State, for example, where it is obvious that the SED has its own agenda and is often at odds with the New York State Board of Regents. STOPP saw this in action during the struggle in New York State over a mandatory AIDS education program. The SED advocated a program in line with Planned Parenthood philosophies, while the Board of Regents supported a program more in tune with the parents of the state. The Regents refused to yield, with the result that Planned Parenthood now refers to the New York AIDS programs as one of which it disapproves.
5) THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD - There are those that say that the local School Board is the epitome of the democratic process. In most states (but not all) the School Board is elected by the local community. The board is empowered by the state to make most of the decisions on what will be taught to children in your school. Since most states do not have mandatory sex ed, it is totally a decision of the local Board whether or not sex ed will be taught to your children. It is because of this that much of the activity described in this book will focus on ways to influence and educate the members of your local School Board. Most School Boards consist of seven or nine people, elected by the community, who serve for no (or very little) pay. They meet once or twice a month in public session and the members also serve on various committees.
6) THE SUPERINTENDENT - The school Superintendent is hired by the School Board to handle the Day to-day operation of the schools. Although the Board sets overall philosophies, the superintendent generally has much latitude on how to operate the schools. The Board will look to him as the one who should settle any concerns you might have with the sex ed program.
7) THE PRINCIPALS AND STAFF - The principals of the various schools in the school district report to the Superintendent. The Superintendent also has a number of staff people who report to him (or her). The exact responsibilities of each of the principals or staff members varies greatly from district to district. With regards to sex ed, some districts allow the principals to control this, some have a "Special Education" staff person who handles this, and still others have a specific Family Life Education Coordinator. As you get into the fight against sex ed in your school district, you will quickly find out exactly who controls what in your district.
8) TEACHERS - The teachers, of course, are the ones who actually go into the classroom and teach your children. These people are extremely important when it comes to sex ed. A "good" teacher, with firmly rooted traditional values, can take a very offensive sex ed program and simply leave out the offensive material. Similarly, a teacher who has bought the Planned Parenthood line can take a very good, pro-chastity program and add objectionable material to make it extremely offensive. Honest principals have told STOPP supporters that there is no way they can absolutely guarantee what the teachers say in the classroom. They can monitor the class, but the only thing they are sure of is what the teacher said while they were present. Once the principal leaves, the teacher could say anything. This absolute control by teachers is why we insist that THE ONLY GOOD CLASSROOM SEX ED PROGRAM IS NO CLASSROOM SEX ED program.
9) THE PARENT-TEACHER ORGANIZATION - Most school districts have some form of Parent-Teacher organization. These are organizations who try to bridge the gap between parents and teachers and help establish a school community. STOPP's experience is that Planned Parenthood has gone to great length to influence national and state Parent-Teacher groups. Because of this, we have found that these organizations are generally not helpful to parents who are fighting sex ed programs. In one school district in which we were involved, the superintendent had a meeting with the concerned parents, his staff, some teachers and the leadership of the school district's parent-teacher organization. During the meeting, the PTO representative actually yelled at the school superintendent for talking directly with parents. They wanted the superintendent to deal only with the PTO and they, of course, totally supported the sex ed program. The parents simply ignored the PTO and eventually won the battle!
This chapter has given you a brief outline of how most school systems in the United States are structured. Before proceeding with the fight, you can ask a few questions and determine if your school operates according to this structure. You can document any variations and proceed accordingly.
Having understood your right to effect changes in your schools, and the basic structure of the school system, we can now proceed to answer a question which is at the root of this entire fight. That is: Why do schools teach sex ed? This will be covered in detail in the next chapter.
There is a well planned war going on in the United States and your children are the intended victims. That may sound like a strong statement, but, if you don't realize the truth of it, you will not understand the real force behind your school's sex ed and other offensive programs.
This war has been going on for years. It involves such groups as the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) which is NOT a government agency, the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), and the Center for Population Options (CPO), among others. The common denominator among all of these organizations is Planned Parenthood. It is the single most influential group in the field of sex ed and social engineering in the schools.
In one school district in which STOPP was involved, Planned Parenthood actually paid for the first year of the sex ed program and ran classes to teach the teachers. One teacher in the school district told us that the first time he went to one of these teaching-the-teacher programs, the speaker introduced herself as being from Planned Parenthood and then said "Welcome to the movement." The teacher was taken aback and asked "What movement." The speaker responded "You know, the one started by Margaret Sanger."
For those not familiar with the background of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger was its founder and guiding force. She began the organization (originally called the American Birth Control League) in 1916 and used the organization to push her racist and eugenics philosophies. Among the notable quotes from Margaret Sanger are: "Birth control to create a race of thoroughbreds," "More children from the fit, less from the unfit, that is the chief aim of birth control," and "the most merciful thing a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."
Margaret Sanger handed the reigns of her organization to Alan Guttmacher. In 1973, when Planned Parenthood had won the Supreme Court battle over abortion, Mr. Guttmacher told the Planned Parenthood workers that they would begin to focus on sex education.
Today's Planned Parenthood knows full well the value of getting to your children early. It feels that if it can reach your children while they are still in the formative years, it stands a good chance of convincing them to abandon the values taught by you and to adhere to the Planned Parenthood line. A stated goal of Planned Parenthood is to teach your children in such a way that when they reach the point in their life where the use of contraceptives becomes a possibility, the children will choose contraceptives "as naturally as breathing."
In April of 1986, the President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Faye Wattleton, announced a Corporate goal of "establishing a K through 12 sex education program in every school district in the United States!" By this announcement, Planned Parenthood has declared war! It has established the fact that it is after YOUR children and, unless you react now, it is going to win!
The purpose of explaining this background is so that you will have the information to tell your fellow citizens that the push for sex education is not one that is locally developed. It does not come from "inside" your school system or your community. Rather, it is a Nationwide objective being pushed at the highest levels by a group which has an economic and philosophical stake in seeing that sex ed and teen sexual activity is proliferated.
An example of how Planned Parenthood pushes its agenda can be seen by examining the funding of "Family Life Education" (FLE) in New York State from 1978 to 1987. Planned Parenthood lobbied for FLE funds and got $75,000 added to the 1978-79 Supplemental Budget for the specific purpose of funding FLE.
According to a government report titled "New York State Education Department, Bureau of Health and Drug Education and Services, Family Life Program Information, FY 85-86", dated December, 1986, after 1978, the State Education Department added the following funds to its budget for the years indicated:
YEAR FUNDS SOURCE OF FUNDS
1979-1980 150,000 N Y State Purpose Local Assistance 1980-1981 147,000 State Purpose- Local Assistance 1981-1982 147,000 State Purpose- Local Assistance
According to the last paragraph on page 2 of the report, State funding for these education programs had been deleted from the budget after the 1981-1982 funding year. Although the report doesn't say so, this deletion was apparently because the programs don't work and had met with little acceptance from parents and school districts. The report does say, however, that funding was found by tapping the "Department of Social Services - Teen Pregnancy Funds" (DSS-TPF). This was accomplished largely through the efforts of Family Planning Advocates, Inc. (FPA). FPA is the legislative arm of Planned Parenthood in New York State! Thus, Planned Parenthood was able to get the following funding:
YEAR FUNDS SOURCE OF FUNDS
1982-1983 90,000 DSS-TPF 1983-1984 90,000 DSS-TPF 1984-1985 100,000 DSS-TPF 1985-1986 100,000 DSS-TPF
Planned Parenthood has worked hard in New York State to try and get sex ed made mandatory. It has gotten the Governor to sponsor a Task Force on Teenage Pregnancy and has stacked the Task Force with its people. This Task Force has consistently recommended that sex ed be made mandatory in the State. The State Legislature, largely through the efforts of the late State Senator James Donovan, has resisted this move. However, Planned Parenthood has gotten the New York City Board of Education to make sex ed mandatory in all City schools and it did get the Governor to fund sex ed through special programs. For the 1986-1987 year, Governor Cuomo gave $350,000 to Family Life Education through the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Services Initiative (APPS). Additional funding has been provided under similar programs since 1987.
When people in your school district start talking about sex education programs (or defending programs that are already in place), they will stress that the programs are going to be tailored to the needs of your community. They will claim that it is a local initiative and that it will represent the values of your community. When these officials make this claim, remember this national thrust of Planned Parenthood. Remember that there are many bureaucrats, in the sex ed business, who owe their very jobs to the work of FPA and Planned Parenthood! Ask yourself what chance you have of keeping any program free of the Planned Parenthood influence!
Planned Parenthood is engaged in a financial struggle for Corporate existence and a philosophical struggle in spreading the philosophies of Humanism. It believes that both these struggles rely on it being able to get to YOUR children early and literally brainwash them into accepting Planned Parenthood's ideas and programs. It has been at this game for almost twenty years and a measure of its success is the degree to which its philosophies are accepted by people in their twenties and early thirties - many of whom are the victims of Planned Parenthood style sex ed. Now that Planned Parenthood's goals are being brought out into the open, it is up to us, you and me, to reverse this trend and save the next generation of children from Planned Parenthood's anti-God, anti-family and anti-child philosophies. We must act, now, to stem the tide of this Corporate giant.
The remainder of this book is going to bring you accounts of people who have taken up this fight against Planned Parenthood. People who have won significant victories and people who are still fighting. We will not use the actual names of the school districts involved, the names of the people who are fighting for their children, nor the names of the school officials as that would serve no real purpose. Please understand, however, that all accounts are absolutely true and we have the records to document the cases cited. We encourage you to read these accounts and understand the techniques that have been successful in fighting sex ed.
These techniques will work for you, too. It makes no difference if you are fighting sex education or other offensive school education programs. The real message in these accounts is that you CAN do something about what is going on in your schools. You CAN make a difference in the lives of the children in your community. NOW, is the time to begin......
The fight against Planned Parenthood in School District #1 was a relatively short one. It illustrates, however, several of the techniques you should use in fighting Planned Parenthood and is, therefore, included here.
During the 1985-86 school year, Planned Parenthood people gave a presentation to seventh graders in School District #1. During the presentation, Planned Parenthood handed out literature on contraceptives, passed samples of contraceptive devices around the classroom, and even showed the children a price list! They pointed out that the devices were cheaper at Planned Parenthood than at local pharmacies.
Parents in the District were outraged when they heard of what had happened. They couldn't believe that Planned Parenthood would do this in a class of seventh graders. Several of the parents contacted STOPP and asked us to provide education on Planned Parenthood, its background and its philosophies.
STOPP went to the home of a parent where some 15 to 20 people had gathered. We showed them the slide presentation "A Critical Look at Planned Parent hood" which was produced in 1981 by Mary Senander. This is an excellent presentation and goes into the organization, funding and programs of Planned Parenthood. It puts particular emphasis on the literature handed out by Planned Parenthood and even contained references to the exact literature handed out by Planned Parenthood to the seventh graders! The parents were totally upset at this information and left with a conviction to rid their schools of Planned Parenthood.
In follow-up discussions with the parents, it was decided that the best approach, in this instance, was for them to go directly to the school board and ask for a directive not to let Planned Parenthood into the schools. The parents then spent some time planning exactly what their approach to the school board would be.
It is important, when dealing with the school board, that you do not go in and shout, scream and generally come off as a bunch of "radicals". Any dealing with the School Board should be professional and to the point. The parents decided they would bring up three specific topics. First, they would explain exactly what happened in the classroom. In order to make this credible, they decided to have two people address this subject. Each from a different source (their children). They then had a third parent give a background pitch on Planned Parenthood, and a fourth parent who stated the demands of the group - to have Planned Parenthood prohibited from giving talks at the school. Each parent typed out his or her speech and made enough copies so one could be given to each of the board members.
Having thus structured their presentation, the parents alerted all who had been at the STOPP meeting and asked as many as possible to show up at the board meeting -for moral support. Attendees were instructed not to shout or raise a fuss, but to be attentive and to applaud in a respectful manner whenever a speaker made a point they agreed with.
The night of the meeting, about 25 parents showed up. Enough to be noticeable in a usually sparsely attended meeting. The board members were obviously taken aback by the large attendance and were apprehensive. At the appropriate time in the meeting, the first parent rose and gave the account of what had taken place in the school. She was followed by the other parents in turn. Each parent who spoke gave a copy of his or her speech to each of the board members before they talked. The audience broke into applause throughout the parents presentations.
After the parents had finished talking, the board members commented that they were obviously well prepared and that the board would look into their complaint. Several of the board members, after the meeting, commented on how professional the presentations were and how they would make sure the complaints were given attention.
At the following board meeting, the board told the parents that they did not condone what Planned Parenthood had done, but that they felt it was a matter that could be handled by the school principal. They asked the parents to talk with the principal and to see if things could be worked out at that level. The parents later met with the principal of the school. The principal told them that he did not agree with the Planned Parenthood presentation and that "as long as he was principal", Planned Parenthood would never be allowed back into the schools.
Although this was less than the total district-wide ban they had sought, the parents decided not to pursue this matter any further because they had achieved their primary objective. They knew that they would have to monitor the situation closely in the event this principal left the school.
This short fight illustrates a number of steps which should be taken in any fight against Planned Parenthood school programs:
1) If you become aware of a problem, document the problem and, if possible, get more than one student's word for it.
2) Educate the parents on Planned Parenthood so that they can see that this was not just some isolated incident by some naive Planned Parenthood volunteer. They must understand that this type of "education" is part of Planned Parenthood's game plan.
3) Before going to the school board, know exactly what the issue is you want to raise and exactly what you want the school board to do about it.
4) Put your objections and recommended action in writing - that way there can be no controversy over exactly what you object to or what you are seeking.
5) Make your presentation to the school board a professional one. Type out your remarks and provide copies to each board member.
6) Accept suggestions of the school board on how to settle the issue. Do not refuse to talk to employees of the school district unless you have already done so and can demonstrate that they are unresponsive.
7) Understand exactly what your objective is and accept a solution that will accomplish that objective - even if it is not exactly what you had asked for. In this case, the parents accepted the principal's statement even though they knew it would mean that they would possibly have to go through the same battle if a new principal came to the school. By accepting this solution, they achieved everything they were immediately after, and established themselves as "reasonable" in the event they should have to go to the school board again in the future.
It is important, however, that you do not give away what you are really after just for the sake of being "reasonable."
The study of this school district should give you a basic idea of how to approach a school board. The next case will add a bit more complication to the fight.....
Parents in School District #2 faced a different problem. Planned Parenthood was proposing to set up an abused child counseling service in the schools. It produced statistics (it is good with statistics) to show that child abuse was a growing problem in the area. Then they secured an eminently qualified counselor to run the program.
The parents faced an entrenched school board, with a member who sits with her back to the people throughout the entire school board meeting. In addition, the local media was on Planned Parenthood's side.
In order to arouse community support, the parents decided to use Letters-to-the- -editor. This is always an effective technique, as this section is one of the most widely read in any newspaper. The parents conducted a very effective letter writing campaign along with raising the issue at the school board meetings. The issue began to be picked up in the news section of the papers and was even the subject of at least one editorial cartoon. The cartoon showed a person dressed in a boy scout outfit holding the hand of a small girl and an elderly woman beating the boy scout on the head with an umbrella. The child was identified as an "abuse victim", the boy scout as a "Planned Parenthood Counselor" and the elderly woman as (school district) backlash. The woman is saying: "Hands off, scout! I know your real intentions are ... you ... pervert!" The scout is saying: "I was only trying to help".
The parents kept trying to show the board that the community did not want Planned Parenthood in the schools. When the other side started making claims that the children, themselves, wanted Planned Parenthood, the parents solicited the help of their children. At one school board meeting, a 13 year old seventh grade student presented a petition to the board which was signed by about half of the seventh grade class. The petition stated that the students objected strongly to Planned Parenthood's "no value" sex education and asked the board to get Planned Parenthood out of their schools!
The parents pointed out that, while the current proposed counselor might be qualified, someday he would leave and the school would be left with a program run by less qualified people with a goal of spreading the philosophies of Planned Parenthood. The parents also publicly decried the fact that an organization that killed children in the womb and inflicted mental child abuse on children, through its sex ed programs, was trying to "buy" public support by sponsoring a small "good" program.
After many months of fighting, the school board took a vote on the program. Because of the outstanding credentials of the Planned Parenthood counselor, the school board voted to adopt the program. The parents had lost...... Or had they?
Because of the large public outcry, the question of which groups could have access to the schools was raised often. The board apparently decided to try and head off any further conflict in this area by developing a school access policy. The intent of the policy was to determine what groups or individuals would be allowed access to the schools and what types of programs could be presented to the children. Recognizing that the parents who fought the child abuse program had a great influence in the community, the board asked some of its leaders to participate in drawing up the access policy.
The parents worked long and hard for many months to develop an acceptable policy. Although the final policy statement was not everything the parents hoped for, it was much better than no policy and the parents felt they could live with it. Thus, although the long struggle against the child abuse counseling program had not been successful, it did lead to this new policy and to a recognition by the school board of the proper role of parents in the decision process of the school. But, that's not all.....
Six months after the program started, the qualified counselor left the area -as parents had predicted he would. Faced with a program that had no counselor, the school board decided to take no action. Thus, the Planned Parenthood program has actually not existed in the schools. When contacted by local parents, the school board said that they decided not to restart the Planned Parenthood program because of all the controversy the program generated among the parents! The children were being helped through other sources, and the Planned Parenthood program was, simply, quietly dropped!
WOW! It turns out that, despite the apparent loss, the parents had actually won the fight over the program! God had taken the faithful efforts of the parents and created a victory out of an apparent defeat. Because of the efforts of parents who cared, these hurt children are now getting real help instead of having Planned Parenthood's sick philosophies thrust upon them. But, God wasn't through yet...
Approximately three years after the fight over the child abuse counseling program, the parents scored another tremendous victory against the pro-abortion forces. This victory was so great and so complete, it was described by one parent as the equivalent to throwing a no-hit, no-run, perfect game in baseball.
During 1989, the New York State Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution tried to get local groups to spawn education programs that would bring attention to the Constitution. A small group of people in this school district, who apparently were proabortion, saw this as a chance to bring attention to the abortion issue and to get children in the local schools to write pro-abortion essays. To accomplish this, they received a $1,000 grant and developed an Essay contest. The essays could be written on one of two topics: "Non-Partisan vs. Partisan Elections in Village and Town" or "Reproductive Rights". The guide for the Reproductive Rights essay was a 5 page "fact" sheet. It was noted by area pro-lifers that all sources for the fact sheet information were either Planned Parenthood or organizations, literature or research groups that were, in fact, pro-death.
As the pro-abortion people hatched their plan, they were shocked to find that they could not get access to the public schools. Because of the previously agreed Access Policy, these people did not qualify and could not get to the kids through the schools! They were, of course, outraged, but could do nothing about it. Despite their protests, the school board was just applying an agreed to Access Policy.
Without access to the children, the pro-aborts' carefully laid plans began to fall apart. They did go ahead with the contest and announced the winner at a Town Meeting. The following is the account of this meeting written by a local STOPP supporter:
"A hearty congratulations is in order for (the person) who was the only
person who submitted an essay and won!! I wish everyone could have seen
the expression of the woman who made the announcement. She was barely
audible. And, "Oh yes, the essay would be available at the library if
anyone wished to read it." No mention of the contents, or the title,
either at the meeting or in the newspaper! It wasn't until the next day,
when I went to the library, that I found out the title, "HUMAN LIFE AND
PERSONHOOD". Yes, it was definitely a pro-life essay!"
Thus, the parents who fought the child abuse program not only won all they sought, but the results of their victories were being felt several years later. God will take our small, humble efforts and multiply them beyond belief - if we will be faithful to Him and persistent in our fight against Planned Parenthood.
This series of events points out a number of additional things which can be done by people who are fighting school programs. These include:
1) If the school board will not listen to you, do not be afraid to go directly to the community. Use the letters-to-the-editor column in your local papers to ask pertinent questions and bring the attention of the community to what is going on in the schools. Most people have a built in trust of the schools, so you must present factual information to overcome this feeling and get people to view the facts.
2) Respond to the arguments of your adversaries on issues that effect the community. Get the students involved when appropriate and spread the message to an objection of Planned Parenthood in general, not just the specific program involved.
3) If you are presented with opportunities to have an effect on school policy (such as with an Access Policy), take it. Try to get the best policy statements you can. You never know when they will be beneficial to your goals.
4) Finally, the most important point for any fight against the schools, don't count your victories and losses by the vote of the school board. The parents in District #2 lost the school board vote, but won everything!
Make sure all your supporters understand that their job is NOT to win school board votes. Their job is to proclaim the truth. To shout from the house tops the clear message of Jesus Christ. Their task is to rouse the people and get them out to school board meetings, get them to write letters and to sign petitions. In other words, to get the community involved. If they have done this, they have won-regard-less of how the school board votes.
If you can instill this idea in your supporters, then you've opened a force in your community that will not be stopped. Too many people judge their success or failure by the outcome of the vote. This is what Planned Parenthood does, and they understand it completely. What they do not understand is people who lose the school board vote and still fight as strong as ever. They don't understand this unselfish education on the part of parents for no apparent material gain. And, since they don't understand it, they cannot fight it. They are helpless against truly dedicated parents who simply will not give up.
So, don't give up. Keep fighting and God will win!
The next school district we will review posed a much different set of challenges to the parents. In School District #3, Planned Parenthood had funded the installation of a Family Life Education program in 1979. Planned Parenthood considered this its "model" program as evidenced by it being referred to in a number of state level documents.
In the years following 1979, funding directly from New York State allowed for the installation of a fifth through eighth grade program that was overseen by a full time Family Life Education director in the school district.
Thus there was, in this district, an entrenched bureaucracy which the parents would have to overcome. Because of the importance of this school district to Planned Parenthood, and the significance and scope of the total victory, we will cover the activities of the parents in much greater detail. We trust the description of this two-and-a-half year battle will provide the readers with much insight and ideas on how to fight these programs.
In 1986, seven years after the program had begun, a parent with a child in the fourth grade became outraged over the program and the messages it was giving to the young people of the community. She realized her child would be attending this course starting the following year and felt she had to do everything possible to protect her child and the other children of the community. This parent obtained copies of the curriculum and contacted various pro-life groups in the area for assistance.
The struggle which we will describe was a cooperative effort among the residents of the community, a pro-life group called PARENTS ROUNDTABLE, and STOPP. For ease of reading, we will not take the time to identify what actions were taken by which groups. It was truly a cooperative effort with many people working behind the scenes as well as on the front lines.
The concerned parent decided to get things started in the school district by holding an informational meeting. She set up the meeting in a local church hall and invited many other parents and every member of the school board (two of whom actually attended the meeting). The meeting opened with a prayer and some singing of religious songs, and then "A Critical Look at Planned Parenthood" was shown to the crowd. Finally, the discussion was turned to the specific program in the school district.
As the speakers read from the actual course material, attendees were surprised to find that, among other things, the eighth grade curriculum advised students that there were two "responsible" ways of avoiding teenage pregnancy - either saying "no" to sexual involvement or using contraceptives. The attendees were also surprised to learn that the program stressed to the teachers that "there are no right or wrong answers."
The 30 attendees were clearly opposed to the sex ed program and were eager to begin the fight to get it taken out of the school. Several members of the group stated that they were "surprised" by the nature and extent of Planned Parenthood programs, while one school board member stated he was "shocked." Based on the feelings expressed at the meeting, and the organizational abilities of the concerned parent, it was clear that the district's sex educators in were in for a fight.
The two school board members who attended the meeting were very upset at the Planned Parenthood program. They asked the Superintendent of Schools to follow-up. The Superintendent scheduled a meeting for September to discuss the matter with the concerned parents.
In preparation for the September meeting, parents prepared the following analysis of the FLE program in the school.....
Note: the name of the school district has been replaced by (_____).
Amid protests from parents, the (_____) School System launched a comprehensive family life education program at the beginning of the 1980's. Although many parents of the district objected to the fact that the program would teach the children values contrary to their religious up-bringing, educators pointed to the high, and rising, teen pregnancy rates in (_____) and stated that the good of the entire community had to come before the beliefs of any particular students. These programs, put together by Planned Parenthood, and other "sexuality education" professionals, would reduce the teen pregnancy rate, the parents were assured.
Thus, in the 1980 - 1981 school year, (_____) instituted the Family Life program in grades 5 through 8 (i.e. children aged 11 - 15). The program contained many controversial elements, such as:
sessions in values clarification; presentations of the acceptability of contraceptive sex; a strict rule that "there are no right or wrong answers"; and some language which was racially disturbing to the black community. In addition, parents were upset because, although the program was supposed to be voluntary, no alternative classes of instruction were provided for students whose parents opted to keep them out of the class. In addition, it was felt that the "negative permission form", where parents who did not object to the class were assumed to have given permission, was an incorrect measure and that specific approval should be obtained.
(_____) chose to implement the program without taking any steps to handle the above objections, and have taught the program each year since 1980-81. This September will mark the start of the seventh year of the program. The older students who entered the program during the first year have now grown to age 21. Thus, when figures are published on the teenage pregnancy rates in (_____), the teenagers involved have been through the Family Life pro- gram. If the promises of the program were correct, we should see significant reductions in teenage pregnancy over the last six years.
What actually happened?..........
The statistics published by the New York State Health Department reveal that pregnancy rates among teenagers has INCREASED during the time this program has been in place!
The pregnancy rate among 15 to 19 year old children has INCREASED OVER 7%. From a rate of 111.9 per 1,000 in 1981 (the first full year of the program), to a rate of 120.6 per 1,000 in 1984! The pregnancy rates among 10 to 14 year old has INCREASED OVER 5%. From a rate of 5.8 per 1,000 in 1981, to a rate of 6.1 per 1,000 in 1984 (the last year for which we have data).
Thus, despite the promises, despite the putting aside of traditional community values in favor of the "common good", and despite the fact that parents objections were labeled as trivial, the Family Life program in ( ) is a FAILURE!!!! It has failed to achieve its objective of reducing teenage pregnancies.
Is this surprising?..............
No. In fact, these types of programs have failed throughout the United States. Wherever they have been tried, the results are always the same -they do nothing to reduce teenage pregnancy and, in most cases, teen pregnancy increases. There are many reasons for this failure, but, basically, the programs are flawed in their conception. Writings by psychologist Melvin Anchell, along with reports on sex ed and teen pregnancy published in places like the August, 1986 EDUCATION REPORTER provide a back-ground on the failure of the programs, and their inherent flaws.
If this is the case, what are we to do about the teenage pregnancy problem? Do we just ignore it? To answer this question, let's take a look at CBS television report: On January 26, 1986 CBS aired a special report titled: THE VANISHING FAMILY: CRISIS IN BLACK AMERICA. During the show, BILL MOYERS conducted an interview with Mrs. Carolyn Wallace - head of the International Youth Organization .. a community center in the heart of Newark, New Jersey. Moyers asked: "Is there anyway to stop the cycle of teen pregnancies?"
Mrs. Wallace answered: "That's so difficult to even talk about. In my heart, I think I-- I have a solution. And I know now it may rub people the wrong way. But I believe that teenage pregnancy cannot be stopped by programs; it has to be morals, and morals come from God. And somewhere along the line, the black family kind of strayed away from that. And I believe we need it."
In commenting on this CBS program, the Reverend JESSE JACKSON stated: "Somebody must say that babies making babies is morally wrong. Babies and young people taking drugs is morally wrong and physically destructive, and we shouldn't be equivocating and hee-hawing about that. That's very clear. It runs across lines of race and sex." In a show on CNN, Reverend Jackson blamed "moral degeneration" for the increasing teenage pregnancy rate.
Many other social and religious leaders from various ethnic groups agree with the statements by these two prominent blacks. It is time to abandon the programs that do not, and cannot, work and return to the teaching of traditional moral values.
There are many ways that the City of (_____) can work to encourage parents and religious leaders to reinforce these values and teach their children right from wrong. The first step, however, is to rid the School District of the failing Family Life program that does not contribute to the solution and, in fact, by its insistence on the fact that nothing is "right or wrong", contributes to the problem.
During the summer, the parents spent time preparing the preceding statement and spent much time at the school. One day the original concerned parent was walking through the school when she noticed workmen repainting one of the doors. She glanced at the door and saw what they were painting. It was a small sign that read: WELLNESS CENTER. She was startled to see this sign, but, over the summer, she could find out no other information about the center.
On the morning of the meeting in September, several Catholic parents attended a morning Mass. The priest, who was planning on attending the meeting himself, called the two spokespersons for the parents to the front of the church, blessed them, and asked the congregation to pray that the Holy Spirit grant these people the courage and wisdom to do what had to be done at the meeting. This was one of the first incidents in this struggle against Planned Parenthood that convinced us at STOPP we are, indeed, in a religious fight. It is for the word of God that we are fighting. We must never forget this and we must never deny it.
The meeting was attended by the Superintendent of schools, the Family Life Education (FLE) Director, several teachers, six pro-lifers, two Catholic Priests, and a very courageous junior student from the High School. The meeting got off to a surprise start when one of the Catholic priests announced that he could not stay long, but wanted to come to the meeting and let everyone know that he was on the Family Life Education Advisory Board and that he supported both the program and the FLE director. He then left the meeting.
The parents handed out the prepared statement. They cited the fact that Family Life Education in general is an ineffective program and there were no studies to prove that it worked to reduce teen pregnancy. The FLE Director objected to this and cited a study which showed that FLE programs result in a decreased fertility rate amongst the teens. The Holy Spirit went into high gear as the parents explained to the FLE Director that she was correct, but that "fertility rate" means birth rate, not pregnancy rate and, in fact, the study she quoted showed that there were more teen pregnancies but less teen births because the program was apparently good in convincing the children to have abortions. The FLE Director muttered something about having to check that out, and the meeting continued.
The parents turned their attention to the specific program in the school district and told the Superintendent that one of the objections to the program was that it encouraged teens to use contraceptives. The FLE Director responded quite vocally to this claim and said it did not. The Superintendent then asked the FLE Director if there was anything in the program that could be viewed as promoting contraceptive use. She responded with a loud "NO!"
The parents then read two sentences from the program that clearly advocated contraceptive use. The FLE Director responded "That's not in our program!" The Superintendent asked her "are you sure?" and she answered "Definitely, we would not have those kinds of statements in our program!" The Superintendent then asked the parents where they got the quote from. The parents handed the course curriculum guide, published by the school, to the Superintendent and asked him to read it for himself. He took the book and saw the sentences the parents had read. When he realized that the parents were actually reading from the school's own documents and that the FLE Director was giving him wrong information, the tone of the meeting changed. (note: the lying of people involved with FLE programs is not uncommon. We will cover this further in one of the other school district fights described in this book.)
The Junior from the high school told the Superintendent that he had taken the courses in question and that the general attitude he received from the course is that it is perfectly ok to have pre-marital sex, just don't get pregnant! The Superintendent was upset at this remark, and the FLE Director stated that that was simply not true. But, the Junior held his ground and stated that most of the kids he knew got the same message from the course. The meeting had run for almost two hours and the Superintendent had to leave to attend other meetings. He set up a follow-up meeting to address the parents concerns and also to get into he subject of the "Wellness Center." He did commit to the group that changes would be made in the program and that contraceptive pushing class sessions would be removed. He stated that the program would be reoriented to put much more emphasis on chastity and "saying no."
After the meeting the parents tried to obtain more information on the WELLNESS CENTER in the school. They found that the CENTER was being funded by New York State and that an application for the funds had been filed by the school district. The parents demanded, under the Freedom of Information Act, to be given a copy of the application. The school administration was not very helpful in giving this document to the parents. One parent had to literally "camp out" in the offices for several days before she was finally able to get a copy of the 381 page application.
On October 25, 1986, the parents held their second meeting with the Superintendent. The Catholic priests could not be present for this meeting, nor could the student at the high school who attended the first meeting. However, the parent representatives were there and were supported by several other parents and representatives of the groups involved.
The Superintendent opened the meeting by stating that he was deeply concerned by the parents' accusation about what the course was teaching the children. He said that, since the first meeting, he had talked with two teenage girls who had been through the course and asked each of the girls what message they had gotten from the program. He said that both girls told him that they had clearly gotten the message that it is okay to have pre-marital sex, as long as they didn't get pregnant!
The Superintendent assured the parents that he had personally been involved with the starting of the course in 1979 and that the message the children were getting was never the intention of the course. He also revealed that the parts of the program that pushed contraceptive use were not part of the original program. The FLE Director, who remained relatively quiet during this meeting, stated that the course had been updated and refined each year and that not every change was reviewed with school officials.
**** A note of warning here to readers of this book. This updating and refining of courses is one of the reasons parents cannot trust that even a pure biology course will always remain "good". STOPP has frequently found Planned Parenthood people willing to put in any program and then work to change it later - when the heat is off and the parents are no longer watching what is going on. Protecting our children is a constant battle. We must always remember that. ****
The meeting proceeded calmly until the Superintendent told the parents that he would definitely see to it that changes were made in the program. At this, the representative of the school PTA objected loudly. She wanted to know how the Superintendent could make such a statement to these few parents when SHE represented all the parents in the district and the PTA supported the program as it stood.
The Superintendent did not answer this charge and kept talking with the parents. He said that the district had already planned a committee to rewrite the curriculum and wanted the parents to participate as members of the committee. The parents agreed to participate, but reminded the Superintendent that their goal was to remove the curriculum from the school - not just to change the wording of the curriculum. They also stated their vehement objection about the involvement of Planned Parenthood in this program. They further stated that the funding application for the WELLNESS CENTER showed that Planned Parenthood had links to that program as well.
The Superintendent told the parents that the school would end all links between the WELLNESS CENTER and Planned Parenthood. In addition, he agreed to stop the practice of having Planned Parenthood act as teachers of the teachers in the Family Life Program! This break in the influence of Planned Parenthood was considered the first objective and it was obtained through diligent work, a clear presentation of the facts, and, most importantly, a lot of help from God.
The city in which this school district is located is one with a high minority population. The parents felt that, if they were to have any hope of winning this fight, they needed to enlist the support of the black clergy of the city. There was, in fact, a Black Clergy organization in the County and it was scheduled to have its November, 1986 meeting in the city. The leader of the parents arranged for a presentation of the issues to this organization.
On November 15, the meeting was held with the Black Clergy. Attending the meeting were the two spokespersons for the parents, the Superintendent of Schools and the FLE Director. One of the parent representatives gave a half-hour talk which concentrated on the racist nature of these programs -especially the WELLNESS CENTER. He cited the lawsuits that had been filed in other areas of the country over just this racist subject. In addition he pointed to several areas of the grant application that demonstrated the racist nature of the local program. The presentation then turned to the FLE program and its message that pre-marital sex was okay.
Although the members of the clergy still had an inherent trust of the school system, they were clearly upset over the programs. The FLE Director and the Superintendent denied any racist intent and vowed to make changes to the FLE program. Following the meeting, the Black Clergy drafted and finally published a memorandum asking for significant changes in the FLE program, but stating their faith that the school district would do the correct thing.
Following the Black Clergy meeting, the parents began attending the FLE commit- tee meeting on the rewrite of the FLE program. It became quite clear, however, that this committee was something put in place to pacify the parents and they had no intentions of making other than cosmetic changes in the program. Although they were talking about removing some offensive words, they were not talking about changing the philosophy.
The parents decided that they now had to take this fight to the school board. They began attending school board meetings and presented the board members with the same material they had given to the district staff. They talked individually to the school board members and gave them as much data as they could on Planned Parenthood and its corrupt programs.
While all this was going on, the parents also began to have discussions with the Catholic priest who was on the FLE Advisory Board and had spoken so favorably of the program at the first meeting with the Superintendent. Since the Superintendent had been surprised at the content of the program, the parents felt the priest might not know exactly what was in it. It turns out this line of thinking was correct. When confronted with the actual content of the program, the priest was outraged. He stated that nothing like that had been in the original program and that the FLE Director had repeatedly assured him that this type of material was not in the program.
After all the facts became clear, the priest resigned from the FLE Advisory Council and gave his support to the parents. This priest, who was the pastor of a church in the city, later joined the pastors of the four other Catholic churches in the city and issued a joint letter criticizing the Family Life Education program and asking for its removal! Another victory given by GOD!
Since the WELLNESS CENTER had not yet opened, the parents decided to concentrate on this issue. They wrote letters to the editor, got as much newspaper coverage as they could get, and raised the issue at every school board meeting. A couple of the school board members began to support the parents and they used their position to have the board schedule a vote on whether or not to open the WELLNESS CENTER in the school.
As you can imagine, this vote raised a lot of emotion in the community. The papers were filled with stories (mostly critical of the parents). To illustrate the degree to which the local paper was against the parents, it refused to run a paid advertisement that the parents wanted to run. The ad exposed the true nature of Planned Parenthood. After much discussion, the newspaper finally ran the ad, but managed to do it on a weekday (instead of the Sunday the parents wanted) and just one day before the school board meeting.
The backers of the WELLNESS CENTER began to scramble to save their program. In order to keep board approval, proponents had to agree to a number of "compromises." They stated they would not do pelvic examinations on the teen girls. They said the Center would do primary services (immunizations, etc), but would not do the more comprehensive services (i.e. writing prescriptions, etc). Even with all of these changes, the clinic supporters managed to win only by a vote of 5-4 of the school board.
The parents remained firm in their conviction to get not only the WELLNESS CENTER, but also the Family Life Education program out of their schools. To publicize their concern, and to get out the truth in the face of the very hostile local press, the parents started a weekly picket at the high school from noon to one every Wednesday. After beginning the weekly picket, the parents saw increasing community support. The weekly picketers were told by some teachers that the teachers do not want to teach the Family Life curriculum but fear political reprisals if they speak out. They fear transfer to a less desirable school or other job-related reprisals. But, they thanked the picketers for being there and asked them to keep up the pressure.
The parents were consistently being told by the school administration that they were a small minority. The school officials and the FLE Director assured them that most parents supported the program. The parents decided that one way to demonstrate the outrage of the community was to have parents take their children out of the class. They began a campaign to inform fifth grade parents on the true nature of the program. They concentrated on the fifth grade class because it was the first class in the series and, if they could get kids out of this class, then the children would not be exposed to the garbage. The school administrators were shocked when, in the spring of 1987, fifteen children were taken out of the class by their parents! This represented almost 50% of the class and clearly demonstrated the community opposition to the program.
Also, the parents ran a candidate in the school board election. Although their candidate did not win, the parents were able to get more of their message out to the community and learned about campaigning. Following the election defeat, the parents, once again, demonstrated their resolve by continuing to go to school board meetings and to speak out at every opportunity against the FLE and WELLNESS CENTER.
As it turned out, there would be a change in the funding of the Family Life Education program that year. Because of the length of time the program had been in the school, it was no longer eligible for funding through the state. The local school district would have to pick up the $100,000 a year cost of the program. The school board included this amount in the draft budget they were working on in the summer of 1987. This was based, in part, on the claim by program supporters that the FLE program was responsible for a "23% decrease in adolescent pregnancies."
The parents continued to fight this funding and one parent did considerable, in depth, research on the teen pregnancy statistics in that city compared to the county in which the city was located. The parent then published a, well documented, report which clearly showed, using data supplied by the County Health Department, that adolescent pregnancies in the city had actually INCREASED during the existence of the FLE program. This at a time when the rest of the County was seeing a decrease in adolescent pregnancies. What was even more startling was that the Health Department data revealed that the highest increase in pregnancies took place in exactly the group that was the primary target of the FLE program -the 10 to 14 year old!
The school board scheduled a vote for its August, 1987 meeting on whether or not to continue funding the FLE program. Parents attended the meeting and sat through lengthy discussions of this and other issues. The board then voted 5-4 to STOP ALL FUNDING OF THE FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION PROGRAM! Once again, GOD had provided a victory.
With no money in the budget, the FLE Director took a "leave of absence" from the school district and reportedly found employment outside the district.
In analyzing the victory, the parents asked the school board member who switched his vote what made him change his mind. He said that as he was leaving for the school board meeting that night, it occurred to him that his daughter had taken the course they would be voting on. So, he asked is daughter what she thought of it. His daughter told him "It's terrible dad, they tell us to do all kinds of things that you and mommy say we shouldn't do." With that as input, he went to the meeting and voted against the FLE program! (from the mouths of babes...!)
The school board vote was a tremendous victory for the parents. It was, however, not a complete victory. The school board also voted to continue funding, through the state, of the WELLNESS CENTER and, although there would be no funding, the text books and material for the FLE program were still in the schools.
Knowing that their children would not be safe until this school based clinic and all remnants of the FLE program were removed from the school, the parents resumed their weekly pickets of the High School and promised to continue activity at every school board meeting. The parents stated they would not rest until FLE, the in-school clinic, and Planned Parenthood were thrown out of their schools forever!
The battle over the programs continued throughout the 1987-88 school year. The parents continued their weekly pickets. Most of the time, the picket line was only three people - two of whom were elderly ladies with no children in the school. It still proved a galvanizing force and continued to attract supporters. In the Spring of 1988, the parents once again ran a candidate for the school board. This time they won!
Because of the faithfulness and persistence of the parents in this school district, it was apparent that God was granting them a number of victories. HE also set in motion a series of events which were to bring about a dramatic turn in the fight over the School Based Clinic.
In January, 1988, the New York State Department of Health issued a statement highly critical of the WELLNESS CENTER operation. To quote from this report: "It was apparent from our visit that the (_____) Health Center staff, despite our attempts to educate, has failed to implement the School-Based Clinic concept." In short, the NYS Health Department was upset because of all the "compromises" which had to be made to get the clinic open. It wanted the clinic to do more prescription and follow-up services "on-site".
The NYS Health Department was particularly upset over the "absence of on-site reproductive health services." They specifically cited the need for "on-site" pelvic exams for females and STD screening for both males and females. The State was also upset that the existing school staff did not embrace and push the clinic. This was particularly true of school nurses who were not being "cooperative" in referring children to the CENTER.
Apparently, these nurses became informed on the true nature of the CENTER and were reminded of its bad effects by the weekly pickets. Parents were particularly grateful for the apparent understanding of the school nurses who were truly living up to their goal of providing health protection for their students. In summary, the State Health Department threatened to remove all funding for the CENTER unless these problems were solved!
In an effort to protect the CENTER, the School Board established a special sub-committee. Among the recommendations of this sub-committee was the establishment of a Parent Advisory Board to help create public support for the clinic. It was recommended that membership on this Board be given to parents who had children enrolled in the Wellness Center. This idea was apparently discarded when a member of the sub-committee revealed she knew at least one parent who was sorry she had signed her daughter into the program. "The parent feels she has lost control because of the confidentiality aspect."
One of the actions of this sub-committee was to bring Joy Dryfoos, head of the Center for Population Options (the largest school based clinic advocacy group in the country) and former official with Planned Parenthood, to the city to make a pitch for continuation of the WELLNESS CENTER. The parents were able to attend this meeting and ask embarrassing questions about the lack of success of school based clinics and to point out that the Wall Street Journal carried an article in October, 1986 revealing a study by Stan Weed demonstrating that the clinics don't work.
The parents also managed to get two of its own on the sub-committee and informed the public and school board of what the proposed changes would mean. They produced a flier that revealed, among other things, that THE WELLNESS CENTER IS PLANNING TO DO PELVIC EXAMS ON YOUR TEENAGE DAUGHTER. One school board member, who had previously supported CENTER funding, was particularly outraged when he realized this exam could be done, on his daughter, by a young, male Physicians Assistant and that he would not be notified of the exam or its results!
The parents also revealed: PRESCRIPTIONS ARE BEING DISPENSED AT THE WELLNESS CENTER BY A PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT, NOT AN M.D.! and that A HIGH SCHOOL HEALTH TEACHER PASSED OUT CONDOMS TO HIS HEALTH CLASS!
The parents then discovered that clinic proponents were trying to "sneak through" funding for the clinic under the name of "The Community Service Project." With short notice, the parents turned out 18 people to the school board meeting where this funding was to be considered. The School Board held a long meeting, discussed the funding, and then adjourned to executive session. When they emerged at 1:00 am on July 14, 1988, they found the 18 parents waiting for their response. Then, in a dramatic vote, the School Board DEFEATED the clinic funding by a vote of 6 to 1!!!
PRAISE TO THE LORD!!! This was a victory brought about by tireless work and a total reliance on GOD! It shows that these programs can be defeated IF parents are willing to make the sacrifices necessary!
An analysis of School District #3 reveals a number of additional things which parents can do to fight sex ed in the schools.
1) Rely on God to direct your efforts.
2) Whenever possible, work with the school administration to get rid of offensive programs before going to the school board.
3) Get rid of "negative permission" programs. A "negative permission" program is one where the child is assumed to have the parents permission to be in a program unless the parent specifically writes and objects to the program. A "positive permission" program, on the other hand, requires the parents to sign a permission slip before the child is allowed in the class. This latter approach is the one we advocate.
4) Invite school board members to your informational meetings. Treat them as allies until you know where they stand.
5) Make sure you take the time, in the beginning, to find out exactly what is going on in your school. You cannot fight these programs with generalities. You must know exactly what is going on in your school and e able to document it. A couple of months of quiet fact gathering and documenting will pay dividends later when the battle heats up.
6) Document your objections to the school program. You will find that the other side will distort your real concerns, so take the time to write out specifically what your objections are.
7) Although you must fight on what is in your district, do not hesitate to cite examples and problems with programs in other districts. Cite national numbers and important research to bolster your case.
8) Do not hesitate to face the other side head on. The fact is that most pro-lifers are better prepared to discuss these issues than most of the FLE supporters. The fact that you are reading this book is an indication that you are the type of person who is continually seeking out information on this subject. So, never be afraid to confront the FLE supporters. You will have greater knowledge than they do and you have the Holy Spirit on your side! With that combination, you can dare to go forward. Remember always the words of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 10: "... do not worry about what you will say or how you will say it. When the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. You yourselves will not be the speakers; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you."
9) Use the Freedom of Information Acts to obtain information from the schools. You are a taxpayer and entitled to know what your school is doing. Do not let them hide anything!
10) Be careful of PTA organizations. Planned Parenthood has gone to great lengths to infiltrate national and state PTA organizations. Before you trust any PTA organization, be sure to check out the leadership and find what values they are pushing.
11) Be careful of committees. There is an apparent strategy amongst the pro-FLE people to get bothersome parents tied up in useless committees while Planned Parenthood goes about the real agenda. Do not refuse to sit on committees, but size up the committee action quickly and be prepared to continue your other activities even while the committee sessions are continuing.
12) The local clergy can be of great help in this battle. Educate the clergy and enlist them in your efforts. If they will not vocally support you, see if, at least, you can get them to remain neutral and not support the other side.
13) You never know what will change the mind of a school board member. It may be his daughter or a friend. When fighting these sex ed programs, get to know about your school board members, where they work, where they go to church, what their hobbies are, and who their friends are. In this way, you will be ready to follow through on any opportunities that arise. A school board member, like anyone else, will listen to a friend quicker than a stranger.
14) Solicit support from parents and, if there is already a sex ed program in the school, the parents should organize and remove a number of children from the program. This will send a clear message to the school administration.
15) When you have dealt with the school administration and the school board, and things are still not being changed, do not be afraid to take to the streets. A picket of the school facility is a good way to raise the level of attention to the issue. We strongly recommend weekly pickets. With a weekly picket, you do not need a great many people to be effective. It becomes like dripping water. A small volume can have a tremendous effect over time.
16) Run a supportive person for your local school board. School boards normally elect some members every year. Let the board members know you are serious by running a candidate. And make sure that all the churches and organizations in your area who support your position get out the vote for your candidate.
After reading accounts such as the one in the preceding chapter, many people ask "Why do you people do this?" A large number of people, including Planned Parenthood, do not understand what makes people expend this type of effort for no material gain. They don't understand what could be so bad about the Planned Parenthood programs that would make people get so upset that they would basically give up all their free time to fight for the demise of these programs.
In this chapter, we will take a look at the basic philosophies of Planned Parenthood as they relate to the subjects taught in typical Family Life Education programs. For our resource on determining what Planned Parenthood philosophies are, we will use a book written by Faye Wattleton as President of Planned Parenthood. The book is titled "How to Talk with Your Child About Sexuality" and was published through Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York. It carries a 1986 © by Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc.
The stated intent of this book (page 5) is to provide parents with information on the subject of sexuality so that these parents can become "the best source" of information for their children. The book then goes on to offer information in a variety of sexuality areas. Let's take a look at some of the information given to these parents in Chapter 7, which is titled:
The first two of the "top seven" questions deal with the physical changes of boys and girls during puberty. Although one might question some of the implied philosophies in the wording of these sections, they are, on the whole, informative and accurate.
This is a topic almost always discussed in Planned Parenthood literature. The discussion begins on page 73 with the categorical statement that... "MASTURBATION IS A NATURAL AND HARMLESS EXPRESSION OF SEXUALITY..."
It is stated that this is the "modern view" of masturbation and it is pointed out that "even many church groups have modified their stand, seeing it more as a healthy, normal release of sexual tension than as the sinful, unnatural act it was once considered to be." They then go on to offer the following specific advice to parents:
"OUR ADVICE, THE FIRST TIME YOU SEE A SMALL CHILD FONDLING HIMSELF, IS TO TAKE THIS TEACHABLE MOMENT AND TRY TO GET ACROSS THE MESSAGE THAT MASTURBATING IS SOMETHING PRACTICALLY EVERYONE DOES BECAUSE IT FEELS GOOD, THAT THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT, THAT IT'S OKAY WITH YOU (IF IT IS), BUT THAT IT IS SOMETHING TO BE DONE IN PRIVATE."
The addition of the parenthetical phrase (if it is) in the preceding statement would seem to indicate that Planned Parenthood is sensitive to the values of the parents. However, their real push for their own thinking comes later on the same page when they state:
"ADOLESCENT BOYS AND GIRLS WOULD BOTH WELCOME REASSURANCE FROM THEIR PARENTS - PEOPLE WHOSE VALUES THEY TRUST - THAT SOLITARY SEXUAL ACTIVITY IS OKAY. THEY WOULD BE EVEN MORE RELIEVED TO HEAR THAT IT ACTUALLY HAS UNDENIABLE BENEFITS."
The idea of this section of the book seems to be to make parents feel guilty and old fashioned if they do not think masturbation is okay. Especially since it actually has "undeniable benefits." The last quote we will use from this section of the book relates back to the "OUR ADVICE" quote above. Notice the admonition at the end of the quote that masturbation should "be done in private." Not content to leave it there, Planned Parenthood tells parents that it is a normal, even expected, event for boys to engage in the following:
"...MANY BOYS, AT SOME POINT IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT, MAKE IT A GROUP EVENT WITH ONE OR MORE BOYS."
The fourth of the "top seven questions" deals with discussing intercourse and pregnancy with your children. The book strongly recommends that these conversations take place with 10 to 12 year old.
NOTE: Planned Parenthood has a major adversary in this pushing of sex education on young children. Sigmund Freud contended that the period of life from six to twelve was, normally, a "sexual latency" period- where one normally suppresses the sexual interests and develops other important behavioral capabilities. Freud, in fact, stated that an undue dwelling on sexual matters during this time of life, would hinder a person's normal development. Freud's concept is so well accepted, that Planned Parenthood had to take the time in the book to address it. On page 52, they bring up the Freud "latency" idea and then dismiss it in three short paragraphs. They describe a "more widely accepted view" that sex education for this age group is okay - without citing any scientific studies or giving the name of even one reputable scientist who disagrees. It obviously doesn't fit their philosophy, so they dismiss it. On the other side of the issue, psychologist Melvin Anchell wrote in a 1986 edition of the "NATIONAL REVIEW" of the accuracy of Freud's "latency" period and goes so far to say that today' sex education programs for the young (such as those pushed by Planned Parenthood in this book and elsewhere) are DIAGRAMS FOR DISASTER! And which one of us, after viewing the state of our nation following fifteen years of this garbage in our schools, would disagree?
The section encourages frank discussion of the subjects and the parents' values. It states, however, that teenagers have the right to make their own decisions on this matter and that parents actually "owe" them certain reassurances if they choose to become promiscuous. The actual quote is:
"EVEN IF TEENAGERS BEGIN SEXUAL RELATIONS BEFORE THEIR PARENTS FEEL THEY SHOULD, THEY DESERVE TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT FRIGID OR FAILURES IF THEY HAVE WORRIES ABOUT PERFORMANCE. THEY DESERVE TO BE TOLD THAT ENJOYMENT OF SEX TAKES TIME AND EXPERIENCE, AND THAT IT IS TOO BAD SOCIETY PRESENTS IT AS MORE OF A COMPETITIVE SPORT THAN AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE."
And I always thought that if I were to perform some activity which was in direct opposition to my parents' wishes and beliefs, that what I "deserved" was a kick in the pants! It is just this failure of parents to guide and firmly direct the actions of teenagers in this area that has led to the fact that society views sex as a "competitive sport." It would not be going too far to say that Planned Parenthood's advocacy of recreational (rather than procreational) sex is just what has caused this change in the view of society. And, now that they have caused the problem, Planned Parenthood sanctimoniously decries its existence.
No sane person would expect Planned Parenthood to write a book about sexuality without a strong pitch for birth control. After all, it is their main business (Planned Parenthood of Dutchess-Ulster, Inc., for example, generated 34% of its 1985 income and over $190,000 in profits from its sale of contraceptives). The title of this section is very revealing, however, because the chief aim of Planned Parenthood is to control births -not to prevent pregnancies. This is illustrated graphically on page 180 of the Appendix, where abortion is listed along with the IUD, the Pill, and others, as a method of Fertility Control. The book strongly recommends that parents talk to the teenagers and help them acquire birth control devices.
Planned Parenthood gives lip service to the real problem of giving confusing messages to the children. The confusing message comes from saying that they should not engage in sexual intercourse, then giving them birth control devices "in case they do." Unfortunately, and predictably, Planned Parenthood does nothing to clear up this problem. On page 111, they seem to make an unequivocal statement that says:
"DISCUSSING CONTRACEPTION - WHICH IS VITALLY IMPORTANT, WE STRESS AGAIN -DOES NOT MEAN AND IS SELDOM INTERPRETED BY TEENAGERS TO MEAN THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN PERMISSION FOR THEM TO HAVE INTERCOURSE."
Pretty clear, right? Yet, on page 82 of this same book, in the section on birth control, we find the following statement which is recommended for a parent to give to a teenage son or daughter:
" `WE HOPE VERY MUCH THAT YOU WON'T GET SEXUALLY INVOLVED UNTIL YOU'RE MATURE ENOUGH TO HANDLE IT, BUT IF YOU EVER DECIDE TO, PLEASE USE ONE OF THE KINDS OF BIRTH CONTROL WE TOLD YOU ABOUT.' ONCE THIS HAS BEEN SAID, TEENAGERS KNOW THEY NEED NOT BE AFRAID THAT BUYING OR USING CONTRACEPTIVES IS GOING TO BRING ON PARENTAL WRATH."
Now, anyone who has teenagers, and I have three, knows that this kind of statement will be interpreted as an okay of their having sex if they want to. I mean, try telling your teenagers "We hope very much that you will keep your room straightened, because we feel that it is the right thing to do. But, if you decide to keep the room messy, here is a sheet to hang over the door." What do you think the odds are that you will never again see their room without a sheet over the door. They will know you disapprove, but you have provided them with an acceptable way of doing it their way.
Planned Parenthood always rejects any discussion about morals, and you will find none in this book. God is never mentioned and religious values are only given passing mention on the way to making Planned Parenthood's own case. You might think, for example, that the best way to insure that your teenagers do not become pregnant (or make someone else pregnant) is to provide them with a strong moral education on the purpose of life and the proper role of sex within marriage. Establishing you and your church's religious position and teaching them about prayer and God. Planned Parenthood does not see it this way. On page 86, they tell you that:
"IF PARENTS DO NOT WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO BECOME PREGNANT OR TO MAKE SOMEONE PREGNANT WHILE THEY ARE TEENAGERS, THEY MUST GIVE THEM INFORMATION ABOUT CONTRACEPTION AND, BY SO DOING, GIVE THEM PERMISSION TO USE IT WHEN THEY HAVE SEX."
Notice, it's not "if" they have sex, but "when" they have sex. This illustrates the basic philosophy of Planned Parenthood, which we reject, that all kids are going to have sex anyway, so we might as well accept that fact and stop them from getting pregnant. According to Planned Parenthood, it's getting pregnant that is the major problem, not engaging in promiscuous sexual behavior at 15 years of age!
This section of the book gives a basic description of STDs and some of the effects. Along with the appendix, it contains some good, scientific information on the diseases. Not once in this section, however, is it ever mentioned that the existence of STDs and their prevalence among sexually active teens, is a strong case for remaining chaste. Parents are not encouraged to use this information in an attempt to dissuade their teens from having sex. Rather, parents are encouraged to talk about STDs with their kids and to let them know that:
"IT IS EASY TO GET MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR STDs." "USING A CONDOM GIVES EFFECTIVE PROTECTION AGAINST STDs TO BOTH PARTNERS. DIAPHRAGMS AND VAGINAL CONTRACEPTIVES OFFER SOME, BUT NOT AS MUCH, PROTECTION TO FEMALES."
"YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THAT USING CONDOMS, AND EVEN CREAMS AND JELLIES, SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE RISK OF CONTRACTING MOST DISEASES ..." (page 90)
What did you expect from an organization which makes a great deal of money from the sale of birth control devices? From an organization whose President was quoted in the LOS ANGELES TIMES in 1987 as stating that Planned Parenthood will not be an organization that promotes chastity. It is not in Planned Parenthood's interests to encourage children not to have sex and this is seen repeatedly in all its programs. As soon as the general public grasps this one fact, Planned Parenthood's days will be numbered.
Planned Parenthood sees homosexuality as a normal thing of equal value with a heterosexual relationship. They make their case in the following quotes from the book:
"THE CHANCES ARE....WE ALL HAVE HOMOSEXUAL OR LESBIAN RELATIVES, FRIENDS, OR ACQUAINTANCES."
"THE MOST POSITIVE APPROACH TO THIS SUBJECT IS TO REMEMBER THAT SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS MAY BE EQUAL TO HETEROSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THEIR CAPACITY FOR LOVING AND CARING."
But, Planned Parenthood is not content to be accepting of adult homosexual relationships. In this book for parents, they tell them that it is important that they approve of same-sex relations between children! Specifically, they say:
"GIRLS AND BOYS NEED ESPECIALLY TO BE REASSURED THAT SEXUAL PLAY WITH A FRIEND OF ONE'S OWN GENDER IS FAIRLY COMMON AND THAT IT IS NOT AN INDICATION OF FUTURE, ADULT HOMOSEXUALITY."
Obviously, this same-sex sexual play with a friend of one's own gender will frequently involve oral sex. Planned Parenthood does not even find this practice wrong as they tell the parents to tell the kids:
"MOST SEX EDUCATORS WOULD TELL (KIDS) THAT ORAL SEX IS A FORM OF SEXUAL EXPRESSION WHICH MANY PEOPLE FIND PLEASURABLE AND MANY OTHERS FIND UNTHINKABLE. SEXUAL BEHAVIOR THAT IS MUTUALLY AGREED ON AND HARMFUL TO NEITHER PARTNER IS NOT CONSIDERED A PERVERSION."
With these basic Planned Parenthood values given in Chapter 7, one can then read the remainder of the book with, at least, a knowledge of where Faye Wattleton is coming from. This book is a flagrant attempt by Planned Parenthood to push sex education in the schools. Although it is never specifically mentioned as a topic, it is clear that the push for in-school sex ed is what the author had in mind. To support this claim, we present the following excerpts:
"FACT: ONLY ONE STATE AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MANDATE SEX EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS, FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH THE TWELFTH GRADE." (from the outside back cover)
"ONLY 10 PERCENT OF STUDENTS NATION-WIDE RECEIVE WHAT CAN BE CONSIDERED COMPREHENSIVE, TIMELY SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN THEIR CLASSROOMS" (from the introduction, page ix)
"DESPITE OVERWHELMING 90 PERCENT APPROVAL OF PARENTS, ONLY NEW JERSEY, MARYLAND, AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MANDATE SEXUALITY EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS. FEWER THAN 15 PERCENT OF ALL BIG-CITY SCHOOLS OFFER TIMELY, COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION." (Chapter 1, page 4)
"SEX EDUCATION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHEN IT HAPPENS AT ALL, INVOLVES FIVE HOURS OR LESS OF TEACHING TIME IN A YEAR. AT THE JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS, IT MOST OFTEN CONSISTS OF SIX TO TEN HOURS OF TEACHING TIME OVER AN ENTIRE YEAR AND TYPICALLY COVERS ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, FAMILY ROLES AND RELATIONSHIPS, AND (SOMETIMES) CONTRACEPTION." (Chapter 1, page 10)
In a section praising the "compulsory sex education offered in schools in Sweden", we find the following, glowing report of activity of a SECOND GRADE class:
"IN THE SWEDISH CLASS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ELEVEN OUT OF FIFTEEN CHILDREN DREW PICTURES OF REPRODUCTION AS TAKING PLACE THROUGH SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. THEY ALSO GRASPED THE CONCEPTS OF CONTRACEPTION, CHILDBIRTH, AND PARENTING. IN ALL THEIR PICTURES, MOTHERS, FATHERS, AND BABIES ARE SMILING!" (Chapter 5, page 42)
WOW! Second grade students drawing pictures of people having sexual inter course. Just the type of program Planned Parenthood applauds. It is very reminiscent of a situation in a New England community where a father was called to the principal's office because his daughter had refused to do the day's health lesson. What was the lesson? The girl was asked to draw a picture of her mother and father having intercourse! And people wonder why we find Planned Parenthood's sex ed programs so offensive!
Finally, in the AFTERWORD at the conclusion of the book, Faye Wattleton makes one last plea for in-school sex education as she writes the following:
"WE ALSO FOUND A HIGH LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR SEXUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, FOR INCLUSION OF MESSAGES ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL ON TELEVISION, AND FOR LAWS THAT WOULD REQUIRE SCHOOLS TO ESTABLISH LINKS WITH FAMILY PLANNING CLINICS TO EDUCATE YOUNGSTERS ABOUT FAMILY PLANNING AND TO OFFER THEM ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTIVES." (PAGE 151)
So, there you have it. Planned Parenthood, who, throughout this book tells parents that they must respect their kids' decisions and allow them to set their own values, does not believe that you, the parents, should have the right to establish the values of education to be taught in your schools! They want LAWS passed that will require YOUR kids to be bombarded with THEIR form of sex education - even to the availability of birth control devices! This is the real reason for this book. It was NOT generated out of a concern to have parents be the "primary teachers of their kids", but, rather, to be the initial thrust in an all out drive by Planned Parenthood to have mandated sex education in schools. This is consistent with their recently announced national goal of having sex education and in-school sex clinics established in every school district in the United States!
In the opening chapters of this book, we told you that you are at war. That there is a battle raging over the lives of your children. Perhaps now that battle is a little clearer. Perhaps the real intent of Planned Parenthood has been revealed. Remember, THEY are the ones who talked about LAWS for mandatory sex education in this book that was supposed to be telling parents how to educate their children.
This is the type of education Planned Parenthood wants mandated in all school districts. Regardless of parents' or community values, they want kids taught masturbation has benefits, group and oral sex are okay as long as both parties agree, homosexuality is just another equivalent lifestyle, and parents values should be learned but not necessarily listened to!
This is the type of education that Planned Parenthood wants to codify in laws - so that parents will have no ability to influence the programs.
This is the type of education that has parents, all over the country, ready to give up their spare time and be called all kinds of names. They do it because they realize that this is a religious war and that, to stand by and do nothing, is to abandon their children's souls. Parents are not ready to do this. They understand the obligations they accepted when GOD gave them children. They realize that the schools must not be allowed to teach their children things that are against the religious beliefs of many in the community. They realize what the board member in school district #3 finally understood when his daughter told him: "It's terrible dad, they tell us to do all kinds of things that you and mommy say we shouldn't do."
This is why we fight.....
Having taken a look at Planned Parenthood philosophies, let us again see what it takes to get these philosophies out of our schools. In Chapter 6 we described a long three year battle that was successful. Not all sex ed fights are that long. Sometimes, the issues are clear and the response immediate.
Activity began in School District #4 when a mother became suspicious when she received a note from school that her child was to participate in a "mandatory" sex ed program. She began to look into the program which school officials admitted was not mandated by the state. Although unable to get a lot of information, she did manage to learn that the text being used to create the course was an FLE guide published by Planned Parenthood.
This district had never been a problem one, so the mother called the school superintendent and asked for a meeting. At the meeting, she informed him about the use of Planned Parenthood material and about the evil of Planned Parenthood. The superintendent told the mother that he was well aware of Planned Parenthood and that it was against district policy to use Planned Parenthood material. He said he would straighten out the situation.
Two days later, the mother talked again with the teacher and asked to see the resource material. The teacher informed the mother that she had discovered that using Planned Parenthood material was not allowed and she no longer had the book.
Although the mother is still concerned with what is going to be taught, she is buoyed by the fact that she was able to get the Planned Parenthood material out of the school.
In School District #5, the County Junior League decided to get Planned Parenthood type sex education classes into the local schools. In order to make the entry as painless as possible for the school district, the Junior League secured some $10,000 in funding to pay the costs of the program. They then approached the school district and offered to put the course, with classroom discussion of pregnancy, sex, etc. into the schools. Parents became aware of these efforts and started a campaign to educate the school officials about the evils of Planned Parenthood's programs. They found the school principal very knowledgeable on the bad effects of these types of programs. As a result, the school district turned down the program and the children were spared.
In many areas, Planned Parenthood has realized that it cannot get programs into the schools if its name is associated with them. They try to use other organizations to get the programs in, often changing the names of the programs so they will not be recognized. So, parents have to be alert to any of these types of programs, no matter whose name is associated with it.
These two quick victories illustrate how parents can head off problems IF they are aware of what is going on in the schools. It is important for parents to be involved with the schools even if there is not an identifiable problem. By attending school board meetings and talking with teachers, parents can keep their finger on the "pulse" of the school and are likely to find out early if an offensive program is being considered. In general, it is easier to stop a program before it starts than to remove it after it has gained a foot hold.
We will conclude this book with the descriptions of two more school districts. Although you might think we have covered just about everything so far, these remaining districts were chosen because they illustrate two important factors. School District #6, in the next chapter, was chosen to illustrate the extraordinary patience of Planned Parenthood. The final school district will demonstrate the flagrant lies of the supporters of FLE programs.
STOPP has often painted Planned Parenthood as a very patient organization and has emphasized that parents have to be especially diligent when fighting its programs. A group of parents in School District #6 fought a Planned Parenthood inspired sex ed program proposal. The chronology of events in this school district is very revealing:
1981 - PANEL DISCUSSION ON TEEN SEXUALITY AND PARENTS INVITED TO IDENTIFY PROGRAMMING THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN.
1983 - SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY PEOPLE SENT TO STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TRAINING SEMINAR: FAMILY LIFE TEAM TRAINING. FAMILY LIFE ADVISORY BOARD ESTABLISHED.
1983-84 - AWARENESS WORKSHOPS FOR THE COMMUNITY GROUPS - BOARD OF ED, SCHOOL STAFF, PTO, etc.
1984-85 - FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION COMMITTEE (FLEC) FORMED.
1985-86 - FLEC DEVELOPS DEFINITION FOR FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION AND ESTABLISHES GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
DEC.,86 - GOALS AND OBJECTIVES PRESENTED TO BOARD OF EDUCATION. BOARD ACCEPTS.
1989 - TARGET DATE TO HAVE FAMILY LIFE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED.
Readers should take note that the above scenario took five years from concept to goal setting and was planned to take another three years to be implemented. Note that the planning had gone on for two years before the Advisory Board was formed (usually hand picked people who support the philosophies of Planned Parenthood) and that the first school board vote on the issue (which is the time, in many communities, that parents first realize what is going on), the program organizers had already been working behind the scenes for six years. This is typical and requires that citizens opposed to the program organize early for a long fight.
Parents in this school district were very involved in the community activities and became involved in the Advisory Board early in the process. Throughout 1986, however, they were repeatedly told by FLE pushers that "nothing was happening". Yet, they found an entire set of goals presented to the school board in December. They found themselves in a position that, even though they were involved early, they had to fight a program that had been slipped through the board of education in the name of the "Committee" of which they were part!
To begin this fight, parents collected a great deal of information on FLE programs and spent time going through the teacher's reference section of the school library. The parents found many objectionable texts. After collecting and documenting what they had found, the parents decided to hold an informational meeting.
The meeting was hosted by a Knights of Columbus organization and was attended by almost 50 local residents. STOPP's Director gave the background of the "Family Life" movement and showed the relationship between this program and Planned Parenthood. It was pointed out that these programs invariably are put in place to "reduce teenage pregnancy." But, as the readers of this book now know from the discussion of School District #3, they consistently result in an INCREASE of teen pregnancies.
The audience was informed that Planned Parenthood and the other sex-ed pushers, do not have a single scientific report which demonstrates that their programs work. This after almost 15 years of experience. The only reports they try to use are the 1985 AGI study of pregnancy in various countries, and the Johns Hopkins study of Baltimore schools. Both of these reports are have been criticized for their scientific method and can be easily shown for what they are - propaganda!
Parents were warned that there is no good sex ed program because there is no way to control what the teacher does in the classroom. Even the best curriculum and texts can be negated by a teacher that believes the Planned Parenthood line. And, since Planned Parenthood spends much time and money educating teachers and health departments, there is no effective way of knowing exactly what all the teachers will actually teach. Sex ed is the responsibility of the parents and must be left that way.
A local concerned parent had done a fantastic job of uncovering the force behind the movement in the school district. Although no curriculum existed (or so the FLE supporters said), she was able to get hold of a number of books which were placed in the school teachers' reference library by the Family Life supporters. Reading from these books, she shocked the audience with the explicit sexual content and with the clear message that parents were inferior educators. Her presentation was truly inspiring and it was clear that many members of the community were ready to become actively involved in this fight.
The parents were very determined to change things around and raised the issue of FLE throughout the community. With letters to the editor and groups showing up at every school board meeting, they forced the Board to reconsider its initial approval of the program objectives. On Monday, July 20, 1987, the Board finally had to recognize the strength of the parents' position and voted 6-2 t