By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… Let me start by stating I am not an attorney and I don’t play one on T.V. The following opinion is just that. However, it is formed after reading various Nevada Revised Statues, Nevada Administrative Codes, Clark County School District Policies as well as the curriculum guide for Health Education in the Clark County School District. If you wish to form your own opinion, these documents are readily available on line.
In last week’s column, I mentioned an Attorney General’s Opinion of 1958. I spent a number of hours looking for that opinion. I did not find it because it did not exist. The Attorney General’s Opinion Mr. Dave Wilson was referring to (Unclear CCSD Policy Poses Dilemma FOr MVHS Seniors: Progress, Feb. 11, 2015), I believe was an AGO of 1955.
This opinion stated that a parent could opt their child out of a hygiene or physiology course for religious reasons. This is the foundation for CCSD Policy 6144 under which students throughout the district have opted out of health classes based on religious reasons. This policy was written in 1960, reviewed, and approved again in 2002. However, it is out of date and probably has little to do with health education being taught today.
When one reviews these documents, they will find that, there is no requirement for a half credit in Health in the Nevada Revised Statues. The NRS merely requires that it be taught. However, the Nevada Administrative Code does require a half credit in health for graduation from a Nevada Public School. This would make CCSD Policy 6144 out of compliance with the NAC.
From here, the issue becomes a little complicated. While there is a provision in the NRS for the teaching of Sex Education in the public schools, it is found in a separate NRS from that which requires the district to teach health education. Where a health education course is required under NAC 389.664, NRS 389.065 dealing with sex education is quite clear in stating a course teaching sex education cannot be required.
It further states that parents must sign permission slips to allow their students to attend sex education classes. Can the district require health education course for graduation? Absolutely. Can they require a student to take a sex education course? Absolutely not.
The question becomes: Does adding a sex education component to a health course make it a sex education course therefore not required? CCSD has tried to circumnavigate this issue by adding a unit on sex education in their required health class and having the students complete those units only after they have permission from their parents. The problem is that NRS 389.018 allows units on sex education to be taught within a health course; but NRS 389.065 requires permission slips from parents for students to take the course, not units within a course.
NRS 389.065 states, “Upon receipt of the written consent of the parent or guardian, the pupil may attend the course. If the written consent ….is not received, the pupil must be excused from such attendance without any penalty as to credits, or academic standing. Any course offered pursuant to this section is not a requirement for graduation.
The CCSD course description for Health Education 6420 states, “Human sexuality and sexually transmitted infectious disease education, within established guidelines, will be an integral part of this course. This course will fulfill the one-half health credit required for high school graduation.”
This is all well and good; however, NRS 389.065 indicates that a course that deals with “…acquired immune deficiency syndrome, human reproductive system, related communicable diseases and sexual responsibility” cannot be required for graduation.
CCSD is correct in that NRS 389.065 allows for units on sex education within the framework of other courses. However, 389.065 is quite clear in its closing statement “…any course offered pursuant to this section is not a requirement for graduation.”
Again, let me emphasize that I am no lawyer, merely a layman who had the misfortune of learning how to read. It would seem to me that the district is obligated to offer a health class that does not deal with sex education, and in not doing so has put the graduation of students in jeopardy. This is not the fault of student, parent, or local school administrators. The blame goes directly to the CCSD school board who is responsible for district policy.
No one asked me but… Apparently a column I wrote last year finally struck a nerve (No One Asked Me But… Progress: December 10, 2014). Let me clarify my position on local public schools. I believe a well run locally supported comprehensive public school is the best possible agent for educating a child.
Unfortunately, the concept of the comprehensive high school is dying. Magnet schools are developed leaving many students behind in what are considered a lesser school setting.
I believe that the demand for private schools, home schooling, and charter schools are a reaction to the failure of the typical public school in America. As my dad told me, “No one leaves the house looking for that which is available at home.”
Approximately 8 percent of the students would not be leaving the public schools if their needs were being met. Those leaving are from all levels of academic achievement. While students who have not found academic success have left, also some of the brightest students are leaving public education. Other students leave over safety issues.
A great comprehensive high school like MVHS is not in danger of a charter school draining students from its campus. While unfortunately, many of the shop classes have been curtailed due to NCLB, the school still maintains a great, albeit a smaller, fine arts program. While CCSD regulations has challenged the athletic program by making the 500 students at MVHS compete with schools of near 3000, the student’s have accepted the challenge and continue to compete as best they can.
The children of Moapa Valley still live with the sentiment expressed by Mark Twain, “Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.” As long as this sentiment is held, there is no danger of a charter school draining students from MVHS.
While I take my coffee black, many in this valley do not wake up to the smell of coffee. However, the people of this valley understand the analogy, and the implication that we are backward and provincial for not accepting policies that fly in the face of our beliefs.
Thought of the week… “Before the child ever gets to school it will have received crucial, sex education and this will have been taught by the parents…”
– Mary Calderone
