The president of a school board in Fresno has voiced concerns that California’s comprehensive sex-education program could encourage students to be gay.
Brooke Ashjian spoke out against the California Healthy Youth Act—a law that ensures kids receive a well-rounded sex-education. The program teaches students about sexual health—with relevant information for all sexual orientations and genders.
Ashjian told the Fresno Bee that sex-ed should be the responsibility of parents—not teachers.
“My biggest fear in teaching this – which we’re going to do it because it’s the law – but you have kids who are extremely moldable at this stage, and if you start telling them that LGBT is OK and that it’s a way of life, well maybe you just swayed the kid to go that way,” Ashjian said.
“It’s so important for parents to teach these Judeo-Christian philosophies,” he added.
However, his fellow board member Carol Mills has defended the Healthy Youth Act.
"There is nothing that is being provided under the state mandates that would cause a student to change their sexual orientation," Mills said.
The Fresno Unified School District has also released a statement in response to Ashjian’s comments.
“Fresno Unified firmly believes that students and staff perform best in an environment where tolerance, diversity and inclusiveness are practiced and valued,” Superintendent Bob Nelson said in the release.
“Fresno Unified will continue to provide our students age appropriate sex education in accordance with the Healthy Youth Act and our board policies while honouring parental waivers.”
Ashjian has opted his own children out from sex-education classes in the district—the state law allows guardians to sign a release for students to skip the class.
“Parents should be teaching Sex Ed first! PERIOD! Let the schools teach the biological portion of it,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“Your child should NEVER hear about this first from a teacher!”
He has since told KSEE24 that his statements to the Fresno Bee were taken out of context.
The Bee strongly deny this claim and the paper’s editorial board have called on Ashjian to apologise.
“Ashjian alone is responsible for his remarks. He needs to apologise to those he has offended and reiterate his support for the district’s implementation of the Healthy Youth Act," the editorial piece read.
