Sex education bill involves parents

Press, 2 July 1985, Page 18

Sex education bill involves parents

PA Wellington The Education Amendment Bill made it a requirement for parents to be consulted on sex education in schools, said Mr Peter Brice, of the Education Department. It also gave school committees the power to decide whether sex education should be part of a school’s health education programme, he said. Mr Brice, assistant secretary for schools and development, was commenting on “Understanding Changes in Puberty,” a departmental manual for pupils in Forms 1 and 2, which will go on trial in selected - schools after Parliament passes the bill.

The bill is before a select committee, but is expected to be passed in this session. The manual, part of a health education unit, will probably go on trial in the third term.

Mrs Marilyn Pryor, a Wellington parent and former president of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, criticised

passages in the manual on masturbation, erections, wet dreams, and periods. Parents did not know enough about the bill, she said. She has had printed 100,000 pamphlets on it. Mrs Pryor’s criticism was based on a manual sent to some groups that has since been revised, Mr Brice said. Mrs Pryor said she had not been aware of this.

Mr Brice gave the “Evening Post” newspaper a copy of the revised manual. All of the extracts Mrs Pryor was critical of remain in this version except for a sentence which said “Not all people choose to masturbate, but for those who do, it is not something they should feel badly about.” Mr Brice said that the manual was first drafted by teachers and departmental officers and discussed at a meeting in February with the N.Z.E.1., the School Committees Federation, the Education Boards Association, and teachers from the schools to be involved in the trial. From comments and

suggestions these groups had made a second draft was prepared and sent to those organisations. It was also sent to the P.P.T.A. and Secondary School Boards Association. Further comments and suggestions were made on the manual. “As a result of those, mark 111 came out,” said Mr Brice.

This vfould be given a trial in 19 schools. Another 19 schools, four of which were secondary and 15 contributing schools up to Standard 4, would get the Health Education Unit with “Understanding Changes in Puberty” deleted.

Mark 111 of the manual was being posted to principals of the 19 schools, and those who chair their schools committees as well as 70 national organisations, said Mr Brice.

“We will get feedback not only from them but also from parents.”

This meant further revisions were likely, he said.