CARTOON ANALYSIS #4

BY: WENDY MURILLO

EDU 210

#4

STATE OF CALIFORNIA 2003

A landmark law implemented in 2003 prohibits California schools from
providing sex ed courses that contain medically inaccurate or biased
information. Its one of the strongest state-level sex ed requirements in
the country, which vary widely across the U.S. However, previous
reports commissioned by the ACLU found that the law hasnt been
implemented evenly across California, and some school districts have
continued to provide inaccurate abstinence-based curricula.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, ET AL.

V. CLOVIS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and two parents of
students in CUSD filed suit against the Clovis Unified School District over abstinence-only-untilmarriage sex education in the district's high schools. The lawsuit charged that the district was
violating California law and putting teens' health at risk by giving students misinformation and
denying them critical instruction about condoms and contraception.
This lawsuit was the first of its kind in California since the passage of the state's 2003 law requiring
that sexual health education in public schools be comprehensive, medically accurate, sciencebased, and bias-free. Comprehensive sex education includes instruction about condoms and
contraception, as well as delaying sexual activity. When the lawsuit was initiated, Clovis Unified
utilized a textbook that failed to mention methods of contraception, provided no information about
how to prevent sexually transmitted infections or unintended pregnancy and taught a curriculum
that all people, even adults, should avoid sexual activity until marriage. Additional materials
included a video that compared a woman who is not a virgin to a dirty shoe and suggested that
men are physically unable to stop themselves once they become sexually aroused.

FRESNO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE

DONALD BLACK
In a decision thats being hailed as historic, a judge in California has ruled that health classes
focusing exclusively on telling students to remain abstinent until marriage fall short of the states
comprehensive sex ed requirements.
In his opinion, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald Black concludes that, given the high
rates of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy in the U.S., medically accurate
sexual health information is an important public right.
Blacks decision narrowly applies to about 40,000 students who attend the Clovis Unified School
District. However, since his opinion represents the first-ever ruling on Californias decade-old sex
education standards, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) whose legal counsel
represented the plaintiffs in the suit believes it sets an important precedent for the rest of the
state.
This is the first time that abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula have been found to be
medically inaccurate, Phyllida Burlingame, the director of reproductive justice policy at the ACLU,
told the San Francisco Chronicle. She added that the ruling should send a strong message to other
schools that young people need complete, accurate health information required by law.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Every student should have
access to Comprehensive sex
education that covers the wide
array of topics that affect
sexuality and sexual health. It
is grounded in evidence-based,
peer-reviewed science.

REFERENCES

https://www.aclunc.org/our-work/legal-docket/american-academy-pediatricset-al-v-clovis-unified-school-district
https
://www.google.com/search?q=comprehensive+sex+education&biw=
1536&bih=777&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_7eKV_a7
LAhUY2mMKHXcIDIMQ_AUIBygC&dpr=1.25#imgrc=Xqj3ndJIScUzuM%3A