Sex Ed Curriculum Scrapped

On May 23, the Montgomery County School Board voted to completely scrap a controversial sex education curriculum that was the subject of a federal lawsuit by Liberty Counsel and also voted to reconstitute the advisory committee that recommended adoption of the curriculum. Liberty Counsel represents Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (“PFOX”) and Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum (“CRC”) in the lawsuit against the school district.

On May 5, Judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order against the curriculum, saying that Liberty Counsel had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of the claims that the sex education curriculum violated the Establishment Clause by showing a preference for religious organizations that were not “homophobic” and by urging referral to “sensitive clergy” to counsel students struggling with homosexuality. Judge Williams also believed that Liberty Counsel had shown a likelihood of success on the claim that the curriculum violated the Free Speech Clause, because the curriculum was one-sided and took a position on the issue of sexual orientation to the exclusion of other viewpoints.

The Liberty Council was pleased with the School Board’s decision to scrap the curriculum and to reconstitute the citizens’ advisory committee that recommended adoption of the curriculum. It noted that the Board’s action is a good first step in the right direction toward resolution of the issues in this case, and vowed that it would continue to work with the Board on a possible resolution.

According to a Liberty Counsel spokesman, the Board’s actions send a strong message that other school districts should heed: School Districts may not cross the line from instruction to engaging in indoctrination on socially sensitive topics such as sexual orientation. Schools are for instruction, not for ideological indoctrination.

Mathew Staver is president and general counsel for the Liberty Counsel.