PJI Works With Parents to Oppose Shocking Textbook

Fremont, CA–A large and growing movement of parents in the Bay Area city of Fremont is expressing outrage at an explicit health textbook the school district is planning to use for incoming high school freshmen.  The book, Your Health Today, is written for college students and is not believed to be in use by any other school district in California.  Pacific Justice Institute has been working with a number of Fremont parents to expose the inappropriateness of the textbook.
 
A story that appeared in today’s San Francisco Chronicle confirms that district officials are aware of the textbook’s graphic discussion of sexual acts, sex toys, and even bondage.  Warning: the linked news story is not appropriate for children.  It should be noted that the Chronicle story significantly understates the number of parents who have signed petitions opposing the book.  Those parents number well over 1,000.  

PJI will be submitting a letter to the school board in advance of next week’s board meeting to highlight legal problems with the textbook.  Among other things, the textbook is age inappropriate in violation of California law, and its adoption skirted necessary procedures and parental input.  The district has also told some parents their children will not be allowed to opt out of the health class, contrary to rights established in the California Education Code.
 
Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, “We are standing with the parents of Fremont because this textbook is clearly inconsistent with California law.  No school board, regardless of their ideology, is above the law.  We are hopeful that the overwhelming opposition by parents from across the political spectrum will cause the board to reverse its ill-conceived position.”

Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit legal organization dedicated to defending religious, parental, and other constitutional rights.