Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412010099
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It has puzzled and upset some school administrators, who say sex-education classes generally have been accepted by parents and students with little controversy during recent years.
School divisions would be free to decide whether to continue offering sex-education classes. The state would not require any locality to provide them.
Some believe that the Allen plan is motivated more by political ideology than educational philosophy and accuse him of trying to placate the religious right.
Roanoke School Board Chairman Nelson Harris said Wednesday he never has received a call or complaint about the city's "family life" classes during the three years he has been on the board.
``I think that our students are being served well with the program that we have,'' Harris said. ``I'm not sure that we need to tinker with it if it's not broken. We have not had controversy over it.''
But Carolyn Reas, an activist who fought against sex-education courses in Roanoke Valley schools several years ago, applauded Allen.
"I think he is on the right track. It is a positive move and I am glad to see it," Reas said.
Botetourt County school Superintendent Clarence McClure said controversies over sex education appeared to have been resolved nearly a decade ago.
"I hate to see this brought up again," McClure said. "It is an old issue that I thought was settled."
State House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County, said he will fight any attempt to weaken the family-life program, the formal name for the sex-education classes.
``This is a defining moment when some radical elements in the Republican Party are trying to revamp the education system in the state,'' Cranwell said.
Under the proposal by The Governor's Commission on Champion Schools, local school boards would have the choice of what, if anything, should be taught about sex education and family life. That would end a 7-year-old mandate requiring every school system to provide sex-education classes.
If a board decides to continue sex education, schools would be required to obtain written permission from parents before students could be enrolled. Under the current system, all students attend the classes unless they are pulled out by their parents.
Only a small percentage of students opt out of the classes under the current system.
Roanoke Superintendent Wayne Harris said it would be an administrative headache to obtain written permission for every student to enroll in the family-life courses.
"I believe it would multiply the paperwork by tons," said Deanna Gordon, Roanoke County's superintendent.
Roanoke County offered family-life classes a decade before they were mandated by the state.
"We consider them to be very important, and that's why we started them before the state required them," Gordon said.
Wayne Tripp, superintendent of Salem schools, said the current system works well. If students must start getting written permission to attend, there will be a connotation that there is something bad about the classes, Tripp said.
Frank Thomas, chairman of the Roanoke County School Board, said he doubts the opt-in plan would be successful.
"The students that you need to reach the most are the ones whose parents won't take the time and effort to complete the [permission] forms," Thomas said.
Regardless of whether sex education becomes optional, Thomas said, the county will retain its program.
Evelyn Ball, a PTA leader in Roanoke County, said family-life classes are needed to help students to be better informed about sex, families and responsibilities.
With AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, she said, the classes are needed more than ever.
Rob Jones, president of the Virginia Education Association, said the statewide teachers organization supports the mandated family-life program.
If the Allen administration has problems with the program, Jones said, it should discuss them with school administrators, school boards and teachers.
"Let's ... fix them rather than scrapping what we have now," Jones said. "I am not sure that the commission's proposals represent the feelings of Virginians.''
McClure, the Botetourt superintendent, said Allen might have difficulty in getting all of the school proposals approved by the General Assembly.
People for the American Way, a civil-liberties organization, sharply criticized Allen on the sex-education issue.
Arthur Kropp, president of the group, said the governor is trying to placate the religious right by going after a popular and well-regarded program that is supported by the overwhelming majority of parents, teachers and students.
Some school administrators and school board members in the Roanoke Valley said they also oppose Allen's proposal for charter schools, which could be created by parents, teachers or others and would be freed from most state regulations. The Salem School Board has taken a stand against charter schools.
In Roanoke County, school officials are taking a wait-and-see attitude. If charter schools are created, Thomas said, they should be under the control of the local school board. Roanoke school administrators and board members have a similar position.
Under the Allen proposal, charter schools would be autonomous and would be free of most local and state regulations except for health, safety and minimum educational standards. Such schools could set admission standards, curriculum, class schedules and teacher pay.
by CNB