Sex Education Program Becomes Tongue-Tied, Dec 20, 10:43 am ET

LEANDER, Texas (Reuters) - Teachers in a Texas school district want to be able to answer students' questions about the risks of oral and anal sex but they dare not speak the words in the classroom because of parental objections.

Educators in Texas' Leander Independent School District became concerned after students submitted anonymous questions to their health teachers asking if oral and anal intercourse is considered sex, and if there are any health risks from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

But the teachers are tongue-tied because the school's sex education curriculum does not allow them to answer such questions.

"We certainly need to address these things in our curriculum because they are health issues," school district spokesman Bill Britcher told Reuters on Thursday.

The district is considering adding discussion of oral and anal sex to the curriculum starting in the 8th grade but the proposal faces opposition.

The problem is that some members of a curriculum advisory panel that includes educators, counselors, parents and ministers objected to the use of the words "oral" and "anal."

"They just wanted us to be very careful of the terms we used, particularly at the 8th grade level," Britcher said.

The panel and school administrators have asked teachers to come up with a way to answer the questions without using the words in question.

Britcher described Leander as a "traditionally conservative community." He noted that other neighboring districts in the Austin area allow teachers to use the words oral and anal, but they cannot specifically describe either act.

[Ain't that a lick in the ass?!]

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2002