SIMI VALLEY : Parents Protest Sex Education Plan

About 100 parents stormed a meeting of the Simi Valley school board this week to oppose adding birth control information to the sex education curriculum.

A 25-member committee has been meeting since early September to review what birth control information should be provided to students at what age. The committee’s recommendations are not expected until Dec. 14, officials said.

Although the school board was not scheduled to discuss the issue at a meeting Tuesday, the parents wanted board members to be aware of opposition before the committee’s report is final, said parent Lisa Whitaker.

Last spring, after reviewing routine updates to the sex education curriculum, the school board decided that a lack of birth control teaching was a gap in the district’s offerings.

Chosen at random from community members who expressed interest, the committee was told not to debate whether birth control information should be included in the curriculum but to recommend how it should be added.

After the board receives the recommendations in December, school officials plan to conduct a series of informational meetings for the public, said Supt. Mary Beth Wolford.