Sex Ed Lesson Upsets Green Country Parents

A graphic sex education lesson has some Green Country parents upset after they said the lesson told their 12-year-old children different ways to have sex.

Parents in Jay said they aren't against sex education, but what's said on one of the pages goes too far.

“I was a little taken aback and disgusted I was like … I was taken back,” said seventh-grade parent Stacy Gough. “I don't think types of sex that you can have is actually appropriate in a sex education class … he said, ‘Mom, it’s like instead of them telling us how to not do it, it's like they gave us a road map.’”

The page is now circling around on social media, causing outrage from parents and community members alike.

"That is not something appropriate for children to see," Jay resident Sharon Squire said. "I am not opposed to them having sex education, but things like this that I just saw, I'm very much opposed to.”

“They need to know about STDs and things of this nature, and what our world, these days, sadly has come to, however, I think it needs to be done in an appropriate manner,” Gough said. “We definitely weren't ready to answer some of the questions that were addressed in the book."

We tried to talk to Jay Superintendent Kenneth Bridges but were told he probably wouldn't be making a comment. We were also told "no comment" by the middle school principal.

Bridges responded to News On 6 Tuesday morning saying:

“Facts: …

• “The “curriculum” you have referred to was developed by the Connection Institute, a division of LifeChoices Health Network.
• “It is being (and has been) used by at least five other school districts in our area including Grove Public Schools for five years.
• “It was presented in our school by the Lighthouse Pregnancy Center (Jay, OK) starting last year.
• “The Jay Board Of Education approved this program last year (September 13, 2016) on a 5-0 vote as well as its presentation by Lighthouse Pregnancy Institute.
• “I was not here last year; this is my first year back in OK (home) after being out of state for several years.
• “I had no knowledge of this program until Thursday, October 12, 2017 and had my middle school principal discontinue the program on Friday, October 13, 2017.”

Parents said they won't stop until they get answers.

"On Wednesday of this last week, she called, crying for me to check her out from school. I originally thought she was sick, so I called and had her check out and she came to my classroom," said Mandy Callihan, parent and teacher.

It wasn't an illness that had Callihan's seventh-grader upset. It was a book.

"Originally, I was like, what could possibly be in this workbook?" she said.

What she saw inside was a graphic sex education lesson that used terms that are so descriptive, we chose not to use them.

"But the terms that were used in this book just is way graphic and in my mind is just completely inappropriate for her little ears," Callihan said.

Callihan and her husband contacted the teacher, principal, school nurse and the superintendent.

She said she hasn't heard an answer about what happened.

"Three days later, I thought, 'I bet there are a lot of parents in our position that had no idea that their children also sat through this last week,'" she said.

Callihan posted about the lesson on Facebook. The post has been shared nearly 300 times.

"It confused her from what she'd already heard. It upset her very, very bad," she said.

The parents were told a pamphlet was sent home with the students explaining they could opt their child out of the lesson, but these parents said they never got it.