District gets ‘F’ in sex ed

Planned Parenthood gave Newport-Mesa Unified and four other Orange County school districts failing grades for their sex education curricula Wednesday.

“Part of the issue is what textbook is being used,” said Julissa Jose-Murray, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties. “Newport-Mesa has decided not to teach comprehensive sex education in its schools.

“Newport-Mesa is in compliance with the law, but is not telling teens what they need to do to be safe.”

Jose-Murray wrote a new Planned Parenthood study released Wednesday that evaluates the sex education curriculum in 15 Orange County school districts.

Newport-Mesa received a score of 59.34 out of a possible 100 points in the audit.

The study evaluates sex education according to a number of criteria, including whether the school districts’ curricula promote healthy relationships, provide information on responsible decision making and educate students on reducing the risk of transmitting diseases.

Martha Fluor, president of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education, said she thought the district was doing a good job providing students with information on a variety of topics from nurses and teaching staff in health education classes. Planned Parenthood officials were welcome to tour Newport-Mesa Unified schools and sit in on health classes, she said.

“We always want to make sure we provide the most up-to-date information possible within the boundaries of what the state allows,” Fluor said.

According to the study, Newport-Mesa received the fifth-lowest score in the audit because its schools promote abstinence and do not teach students how to get testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, among other criteria.

The Planned Parenthood study found numerous faults with the health textbook used in Newport-Mesa schools. “Health: A Guide to Wellness,” released in 2003 by the publisher Glencoe, lacks comprehensive coverage of sexual health topics, according to the study.

“Obvious omissions include any discussion of condoms, even when discussing HIV/AIDS, or contraceptive methods,” the study notes. “The text is also quite heteronormative, discussing exclusively heterosexual marriage as the only logical relationship in adulthood.”

Fluor said she had concerns the study didn’t take into account supplemental materials Newport-Mesa Unified teachers use in their classes in addition to health textbooks.

The district’s health curriculum does cover HIV/AIDS prevention, contrary to what the study suggests, she said.

“We do use the standards as required by law in terms of our instruction, and we’re always looking at doing things better,” Fluor said.

“We have excellent teachers in our district.”

Efforts to reach Tom Antal, Newport-Mesa’s director of secondary education, were unsuccessful.

BY THE NUMBERS

School districts’ scores on Planned Parenthood audit. Scores are out of 100.

Irvine Unified — 97.69

Brea-Olinda Unified — 80.41

Orange Unified — 71.54

Capistrano Unified — 60.50

Newport-Mesa Unified — 59.34

Saddleback Valley Unified — 58.31

Visit www.publicschoolsproject.com to see the complete results of the study.

What do you think of Newport-Mesa school district’s sex education program? Send us an e-mail at dailypilot@latimes.com or leave a comment on our website.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.