BOARD PULLS CONTESTED SEX VIDEOS PARENTS: FILMS TOO ADVANCED.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

BURBANK - Responding to parent complaints, the Burbank school district has stopped showing elementary students a sex education video that discusses masturbation, but some school officials said the recommended alternative won't provide children with the information they need.

The district decided not to show ``Boy to Man'' and ``Girl to Woman'' to students this year - films it has been using for 20 years - because some parents complained that the films gave more information than fourth- and fifth-graders could handle.

The parents said the charts and diagrams in the videos are too advanced and objected to a dream sequence involving teen pregnancy and a discussion of masturbation.

``The videos should be instructional, telling them that their body is going to go through a growth spurt, they're going to get pimples, hair on their body, their emotions are going to be changing,'' said Janet Mouron, a mother of three. ``Those are the kinds of things kids need for the first instructional video.''

But Andrea Canady, Burbank's director of elementary education, said many children are going through puberty at a young age and need the information the films provided.

She said with ``Just Around the Corner,'' the new series considered for adoption for next year, students won't be told as much as they were before, including a segment about the changes going on with classmates of the opposite sex.

``Parents are going to have to take probably a more active role, and we all know how difficult that is for some parents to talk to kids,'' Canady said. ``They'll have to take a more active role in answering questions that their children have.''

Each spring, parents are given the opportunity to view the health education videos before giving permission for their children to watch them. Last year, Mouron took a look at the ``Boy to Man'' video in anticipation of her son seeing it at Jefferson Elementary School. She didn't like what she saw.

A registered nurse, Mouron said she had trouble figuring out some of the diagrams, and she was troubled by a scene that had a young boy dreaming about the girl he likes in a hospital delivery room.

Mouron refused her permission and complained to school officials. With two more children coming up in the school system, she decided it would be better to try to make a change rather than simply keep it away from her son.

As a result of her complaint, a districtwide committee made up of administrators and parents met in January to review the films and make a recommendation. Although the 11-member panel, chaired by Canady, chose to continue with the ``Boy'' and ``Girl'' series, Mouron continued her protest.

The school board relented after it heard from several other parents who objected to the videos on various grounds. At a workshop last week, the board ordered staff members to show a different video, ``Always Changing, Always Growing,'' this spring.

Board members are expected to vote at a meeting this month to approve ``Just Around the Corner'' to be played next year. They have asked for the committee to meet again to come up with districtwide standards for teaching with the new video.

Board member Trish Burnett said she agreed that the old video series was too advanced and would be more appropriate at a higher grade level.

``When I looked at the tape, I thought, in itself, it was fine but in terms of fourth- and fifth-graders, it comes in a different light,'' Burnett said. ``I personally wanted something more age-appropriate. While it wasn't a bad tape, it may not be the right tape for 9- and 10-year-olds. It may have too much detail they're not ready for.''