California Parents Defeat 'Pornographic' Sex Education Book Meant for High School Freshmen

Parents in a California school district who have been protesting a controversial sex education book for high school freshmen were successful in their request for its removal, at least for now.

"Your Health Today," which was supposed to be introduced to high school freshmen in Fremont, California, this fall, won't make it into schools unless controversial content is revised. Parents led a protest in recent weeks, saying the book had content that was inappropriate for teens. (Image source: KPIX-TV)

Earlier this summer, the Fremont Unified School District's board agreed upon the use of "Your Health Today," a sex education book that included topics some parents later found they were uncomfortable with. KPIX-TV reported at the time that some of these issues included topics of online dating, masturbation, bondage and orgasms, in addition to pictures and diagrams that at least one parent called "pornographic."

While the school district defended the use of the book, which it said would be in classrooms this fall, parents created an online petition, which now has more than 2,500 signatures, and rallied for it to be removed from the curriculum. This week at a school board meeting, parents voiced further concern about the book and the board decided to table it for the time being, KPIX reported more recently.

“When I saw that book, I couldn’t believe the topics I saw in there,” Jim Schultz, a parent within the school district, told KPIX.

According to the news station, the book could make it back into classrooms if some of the controversial content is revised, which is something publisher McGraw-Hill has offered to do without further cost.

If a revised copy is not ready for the beginning of the school year, KPIX reported that the older textbook will be used with supplemental materials.

Watch KPIX-TV's report about the controversial book:

In a statement, district Superintendent Jim Morris said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, that the administration believes that the book could still be "an asset to our health curriculum in that it provides the current, accurate, factual and relevant information our students need to make responsible decisions about their health."