Chicago To Teach Sex To Your 5 Year Old, And Homosexuality to Your 10 Year Old

The Chicago Board of Education recently passed a new policy that requires sex education to begin in kindergarten, mandating that a set amount of time be spent on sex education in every grade.

All this is being done, while the graduation rate for for Chicago Public School students is barely over 60% (the National Avg is around 75%).

The new policy, which was passed in February, according to ABC News, is part of a broader makeover of the school district’s sexual health program. Sometime within the next two years, students in every grade, including kindergarten, will be required to spend a certain amount of time on "sex education".

The mandated sex-ed for Chicago kindergartners will include instruction about male and female anatomy and reproduction. Though it’s not clear exactly how much the 5 and 6-year olds will be told on the act itself.

By the time students get to third and fourth grade, the focus will include some good things like appropriate and inappropriate touching, as well as puberty and HIV/AIDS.

Coursework from fifth grade to 12th grades will concentrate on sexually-transmitted diseases and contraception. Abstinence will reportedly be presented as a possible method of birth control. Homosexuality, gender identity and bullying related to those things will also be part of the curriculum at some point from fifth grade to 12th grade, as well.

“It is important that we provide students of all ages with accurate and appropriate information so they can make healthy choices in regards to their social interactions, behaviors and relationships,” Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said in a statement.

CPS says more than half of its high school students are having sex. Cook County ranks number one in the country for sexually transmitted diseases and the U.S. has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the world.

"I just don't think it's appropriate," says Melissa Diebold. "I don't think it's age appropriate. They have no concept of anything like that at that stage in life."
"CPS shouldn't take control of someone else's children like that with our sex education," says Mark Macklan. "That's how I feel."
Mikkel Nance believes sex-ed should begin at home but also welcomes schools getting involved, early on.
"He's in second grade, and we've had introductory conversation on how things work, and how body works," Nance says. "I do applaud CPS for trying to talk to children early the only concern is how they implement it, and if they involved parents in that process and if they do so they'll make that transition smoothly.

In other countries, like Holland, sex ed begins at 4 years old. Sexologist, Dr. Rachael Ross says it's about time for the U.S.
"The parents are kind of in denial about what's happening," Dr. Ross says. "You know, in urban populations, the average age that kids start to have sex is between 13 and 14."

For the first time in Chicago, sex-ed instruction will cover sexual orientation and gender identity. Students will be introduced to terms and definitions associated with sexual identity, including those related to heterosexual and LGBT populations, in an effort to bring awareness, promote "tolerance" and prevent bullying, said the school board.

Parents can remove their children from the sexual health education program if they want, but the apparent default is for kindergartners to learn about sex.

Chicago’s public school system is the nation’s third-largest school district, with approximately 431,000 students.