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From The GazetteMontgomery sex-ed lessons upheld in court
Circuit Court Judge Rowan says curriculum is legal
by Marcus Moore
Friday, February 1, 2008
The Montgomery County school system will move forward with its much-debated sex-education curriculum, after a county Circuit Court judge decided Friday that the lesson plans are legal.
Opponents of the controversial curriculum argued that it was illegal to teach teenagers other forms of sex and that homosexuality is innate. The opponents -- Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, and Family Leader Network -- also argued earlier this month that they never got the chance to argue their perspective before the state school board, who sided with the county board in July over its decision to approve the lesson plans.
The school system has contended that it did everything possible to make sure the lessons were balanced.
"This court finds that there is nothing to demonstrate that the Board of Education's opinion is arbitrary, unreasonable or illegal," wrote Circuit Court Judge William J. Rowan III in his opinion.
The school system and the conservative groups have fought tooth-and-nail for years over the lesson plans, which include two 45-minute lessons in eighth and 10th-grade on sexual orientation and a video on how to properly use, store, and discard a condom.