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Banned: The poster on the left was pulled from Hocker Middle School in Shawnee, Kansas after parents found out it was being used in the sex-ed class

At first, he thought it was a joke but when he called the school he found out it was actually part of the sex-ed class curriculum and that’s when he got upset.

‘Who approved this?’ he asked. ‘You know this had to pass through enough hands that someone should have said, “Wait a minute, these are 13-year-old kids, we do not need to be this in-depth with this sexual education type of program.”‘

At first, Shawnee School District spokesman Leigh Anne Neal defended the poster, saying it was in line with curriculum used across the country to promote abstinence.

Appalled: Hocker Grove parent Mark Ellis (above) was shocked to learn that the poster wasn’t a joke and was actually being used as part of the curriculum for his 13-year-old daughter

‘The item is meant to be part of a lesson, and so certainly as a standalone poster without the context of a teacher led discussion, I could see that there might be some cause for concern,’ she said.

Mr Ellis complained that the curriculum needed to change or else he would pull his daughter from the school.

‘This has nothing to do with abstinence or sexual reproduction,’ he said. ‘I would like to see that this particular portion of the curriculum is removed from the school.’

Mr Ellis was saved the trouble of having to transfer his daughter to another school when the poster was removed following a swift negative reaction.

Superintendent Dr Jim Hinson says that even he finds the poster troubling. He says neither he or the school board approved the poster – it was something instituted by the curriculum department

Flip-flopping: At first, district spokesman Leigh Anne Neal (left) defended the poster as part of their abstinence-based curriculum, but eventually superintendent Dr Jim Hinson (right) took the poster down saying it was offensive even to him

‘I find that language offensive, I really do and so when we’re teaching human sexuality, again, there’s a balance. What’s appropriate at what age level? What’s not appropriate? It`s a really difficult decision,’ Dr. Hinson said.

At the same time, Dr Hinson says society has changed a lot and children know more about sex today than their parents may be aware of.

Hocker Grove mother Jennifer Watland agrees, and that’s why she signed a permission slip allowing her daughter Lyssa to take the sex-ed course.

Defenders: Hocker Grove mother Jennifer Watland (left) won’t take her daughter Lyssa (middle) out of the sex-ed class because of the poster

Daughter Lyssa isn’t troubled by the poster because people her age are already sexually active and they ‘don’t know the consequences’. 

‘You can say all you want, that your children don’t know these things, but they’ve been knowing these things since maybe, the age of 10,’ Lyssa said.

Mother Jennifer says she found the poster ‘alarming’ but she’s not going to take her daughter out of the class.

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