Why the Fort Worth school district dropped its sex ed program and what it plans next
The Fort Worth school district suspended its sex education program for the rest of the school year after facing backlash from parents and residents.
Superintendent Angelica Ramsey announced the curriculum suspension on Friday in a newsletter sent to parents.
Ramsey wrote that the School Health Advisory Committee will review various options for the “human sexuality” curriculum when the board convenes the committee.
“There is not an approved, adopted or recommended Human Sexuality Curriculum for the 2022-2023 school year,” Ramsey wrote.
Students will receive health education instruction this school year using the district’s comprehensive health curriculum, the district said in response to questions from the Star-Telegram sent in an email.
The decision to suspend the program the the result of many factors, according to the district, including “the desire to ensure opportunities for engagement with parents, community, and staff during the review process.”
The district suspended the HealthSmart program after dozens spoke against the curriculum during Dec. 13 and Jan. 24 board meetings. Parents also have the option of choosing whether their children participate in HealthSmart.
Valeria Nevarez, 22, organized a rally before the Jan. 24 meeting to protest what she and others said was a lack of transparency on the part of district officials. She said she was pleased that their comments made a difference.
“It’s amazing. I certainly do think that when people stand up and speak to the board, it’s a major effect,” Nevarez said.
Nevarez said she and others were concerned about HealthSmart because it focused on gender inclusive language, such as referring to a girl as body with a vagina or a boy as a body with a penis. She called the curriculum “unscientific.”
Nevarez said she has siblings who are still in school, and she favors a program that focuses on abstinence.
HealthSmart has been used in the district since 2014, and was recently updated. The Star-Telegram has requested access to the HealthSmart curriculum and its possible changes.
Many parents who spoke during the Jan. 24 meeting said they were concerned about the lack of transparency by the school district and that some were told to submit open records requests when they wanted to know more about HealthSmart.
The district faced criticism Jan. 10 after the board was scheduled to vote on a resolution “Concerning Implementation and Enforcement of School Safety Measures.” The resolution was actually about convening the School Health Advisory Council for the purpose of recommending a curriculum on sex education. The board voted that night, with no discussion, to rescind the resolution after parents and former students said the title of the resolution was misleading.
Patricia Hardy, a long-time State Board of Education Member, criticized the school district’s handling of the optional curriculum, She said it did not follow guidelines from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills TEKS standards.
She added that HealthSmart “contradicts” state law and provided several examples, including focusing on pregnancy prevention but not on preventing sexually transmitted diseases. Hardy also wrote that the state board worked hard to ensure that the new health guidelines met state law requirements for an emphasis on abstinence until marriage.
This story was originally published February 2, 2023 at 10:41 AM.