Broward schools approves sex ed curriculum in close vote amid controversial teachings

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Broward County School Board approved Tuesday a lengthy sexual education curriculum that includes gender identity in a 5-4 vote.

The 720-page curriculum for grades 6-12 and 287-page curriculum for K-5 was met with mixed reaction from Broward County citizens during the meeting.

Prior to the curriculum vote, School Board Chair Lori Alhadeff attempted to have the board remove a lesson for Grade 9 on sexual decision making.

The material involved students participating in fake role plays and scenarios around sex and sexual situations. It also asked students to reflect on their own feelings about rape and sexual abuse.

Alhadeff called the lesson “inappropriate.” The motion to remove that portion of the lesson was denied by the board in a 5-4 vote.

“Its unfortunate that five members of the board supported curriculum with inappropriate material that should be introduced at home between a child and their parents,” Board Member Torey Alston told Florida’s Voice after the vote.

“As a former county commissioner and current School Board Member, I join other parents supporting age appropriate curriculum in our schools and other discussions that should take place at home first,” Alston said.

However, some speakers did not want to remove the curriculum.

“Students need the opportunity to work rehearse, the ability to be able to speak to consent,” said one speaker. “If we don’t give them opportunities to be able to speak to consent, they won’t have they will not have had the opportunity to think through those things, when they are placed in bad situations.”

Entitled “Reproductive Health and Disease Prevention Education,” the curriculum will be sent to the Florida Department of Education for final approval. If rejected, Broward’s school board will need to resubmit a new syllabus.

Several residents complained they did not have time to review the over 1,000 pages of proposed material in just days.

In one lesson plan, an objective designed for ninth grade asks what gender and gender identity are, and how they are different from biological sex.

It then asks, “How does someone determine whether you’re a boy or girl?” and “When you’re born, how do you know what your gender is?”

The curriculum further detailed differentiating body parts on boys and girls determine biological sex instead of gender. The subjective matter also highlights how people identify as “cisgender” or “transgender.”

“[I] caution the board on attempting to defy the science. We’re well aware that there are some children in our school populations who struggle with their sexual identity, but for the first time in history of Broward there is many resources available,” said one public speaker.

“We have help for those children. Attempting to defy the science in terms of the Y chromosome and the X chromosome which biologically define our children is wrong,” that speaker said.

In a statement to Florida’s Voice, Moms for Liberty of Broward County objected to the school board’s decision.

“This curriculum includes topics such as anal sex and oral sex education for 6th graders and instruction on condom use for 8th graders. Many parents and community members, including myself believe that this curriculum deviates from principles laid out by Florida law,” spokesperson Corie Pinero said.

“Parents were only able to view this three days prior to the school board voting, it is over 700 pages and it was not distributed to parents,” Pinero said.

Other public speakers encouraged the board to pass the curriculum.

“Its important for students to learn about things such as consent, hygiene, gender, STI prevention, and healthy relationships,” said one speaker. “Curriculum on these topics that is both medically accurate and age appropriate can protect youth from grooming, child abuse, unprotected sex, unintended pregnancies and more.”

Under conditions made by the board, parents are allowed to opt out of the curriculum.

In kindergarten, one lesson plan titled “Understanding Our Bodies – The Basics” instructs students that “there are some body parts that mostly just girls have and some parts that mostly just boys have.”

“In Kindergarten, you start to teach our children mostly girls have mostly girls have [a] vulva and mostly boys have penises. Well that’s not true, that’s not scientifically true,” said one public speaker. “That’s against HB 1069 as teaching male is male [and] female is female. That is a problem.”

Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May, HB 1069 stops students from being forced to declare their pronouns in school. Furthermore, the bill gave more parental rights in education by banning classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Pre-K through grade 8.

“Keep in mind that everything in here is nothing is against the law, the current law and Florida State statute,” said one speaker in favor. “Actually, it says in 1003.42, it states that course descriptions for comprehensive health education shall not interfere with the local determination of appropriate curriculum which reflects local values and concerns.”