Tulsa school board member E'Lena Ashley discusses the district's sex ed classes
Ashley and parent Paul Zelenski told Fox News Digital parents were unaware of the opt-out process for the sex ed unit.
Biology classes in the Tulsa Public School district are being paused for three weeks, with all students instead participating in a 12-module sex ed curriculum.
School board member E’Lena Ashley posted a video on her Facebook with a teacher from the district, who said from November 28, until the end of the semester, students "will not be getting biology instruction." According to the district’s website, the sex ed curriculum will be taught to all high school students enrolled in a biology class, as well as all seventh-grade students.
Ashley said many parents are unaware of the curriculum, and having trouble finding how they can opt their students out.
"We want parents to be notified that they have the opportunity to opt out of this sexual indoctrination," Ashley said in the video.
All high school students enrolled in biology classes in Tulsa will be taught a 12-unit sex ed class until the end of the semester. ((Credit: iStock))
The sex ed program, called Positive Prevention PLUS, is an "evidence-based program" that "provides students with the knowledge, confidence, and skills necessary to reduce their risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and unplanned pregnancy," according to the opt-out form, posted on the district’s website.
The instruction also includes issues such as anatomy, gender identity and expression and sexual orientation.
"In support of the Tulsa Public Schools District School Board’s regulations, Tulsa Health Department or Youth Services of Tulsa will be providing the Positive Prevention PLUS curriculum to all students enrolled in a biology class," the website reads.
A spokesperson for the Tulsa Public School district said it was not accurate to say the sex ed curriculum was replacing biology.
"There are no changes to the scope and sequence of our state-standards-aligned biology curriculum," the spokesperson said.
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The Positive Prevention PLUS curriculum, taught in Tulsa public schools, includes discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation. (Photo by Luis Soto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Ashley said she had heard from parents in the district who were not aware of the instruction, nor how they could opt out of the program. She suggested the default should be parents opting their children in the class rather than the other way around.
"In my opinion, those parents should be able to opt in, if that was their decision," Ashley said. Ashley also said parents should be able to audit the class, and should be provided printed materials and links to videos that would be used in the class.
"As I speak to more parents, they’re not getting this information. They’re not getting information from TPS on how to get the forms, how to get the curriculum, what the lesson plans are," she added.
One parent, Paul Zelenski told Fox News Digital he found out about the sex ed curriculum while discussing an unrelated matter with a school counselor.
Zelenski, who has a child in seventh grade, said he "agreed strongly" with 90% of the curriculum, but issues like gender identity and sexuality, he believed said should not be introduced to young students.
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Tulsa parent Paul Zelenski said he, and other parents, had trouble finding information about the Positive Prevention PLUS curriculum. (The School District of Philadelphia)
The district spokesperson said parental notification was provided in three ways: "schools distribute information electronically, teachers send home information with students, and schools host preview nights," the spokesperson said.
On the district’s website, the school notes that student participation in the curriculum is "voluntary" and the choice of the parent or the guardian.
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Lesson modules included in the curriculum were "Relationship Abuse," "Human Trafficking," "Preventing an Unplanned Pregnancy," and "Media and Peer Pressure."
The website also stated that the district would hold a parent preview night before the instruction began, but Zelenski said there was no clear communication about when the parent preview nights were.