INQUIRY BEGINS ON HART PROGRAM AIDS PREVENTION CLASSES TARGETED.Byline: CONNIE LLANOS llanos (yä`nōs), Spanish American term for prairies, specifically those of the Orinoco River basin of N South America, in Venezuela and E Colombia. Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, -- The Hart district is investigating sex education programs at its high schools and junior highs after the ACLU ACLU: see American Civil Liberties Union. complained about possible violations of state law. Leslie Crunelle, assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. of educational services for the William S. Hart Union High School District, said Tuesday that administrators are checking into course content and classroom speakers to see if programs meet state requirements. Crunelle said she expects to have the information gathered by Friday to determine if the district is violating state law that prohibits faith-based groups from speaking at public schools and forbids sex education based only on abstinence. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the state Department of Education, junior high and high schools don't have to teach sex education. But if they do they are required to teach a ``comprehensive'' curriculum that stresses abstinence while including medically accurate information on all forms of contraception. The Hart district is among just 4 percent of school systems statewide that don't provide sex education, said Sharla Smith, HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and sex education specialist for the state Department of Education. Schools must teach HIV/AIDS prevention classes, where they also are required to provide the same comprehensive information. District officials said that while the district complies with the HIV/AIDS prevention classes, it does not have a standard curriculum and that schools offer varying programs. Parents who sought help from the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. said individual schools have brought in speakers, including some faith-based groups promoting abstinence until marriage, a violation, according to the ACLU's letter to the district. The letter, sent two weeks ago, also claims that some students were rewarded for signing abstinence pledge cards and agreeing to wait until marriage to have sex. Smith added that the state follows an ``abstinence first'' curriculum, which should tout the benefits of abstaining from sexual activity, but in her experience, ``abstinence-only'' programs and speakers tend to bring religious doctrine into the classrooms that sometimes includes inaccurate information. ``I have yet to find an organization that claims to be abstinence-only that has medically accurate information,'' Smith said. connie.llanos@dailynews.com (661) 257-5254 |
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