Parents raise concerns about co‑ed health lessons; board says opt‑out available and will improve notifications

Board members and parents used a sizable portion of the work session to press administrators on elements of the new elementary health curriculum after some families reported that fifth‑grade lessons included anatomical diagrams and were taught in co‑ed settings.

"We did not have at the fifth grade magazine the colored versions of the male female reproductive anatomy, but she did use those pictures in the slide deck," the curriculum lead said, describing how staff used black‑and‑white diagrams for student labeling and kept colored materials in staff slide decks rather than sending them home.

Parents and several board members said those materials — and the decision to present certain lessons co‑educationally — were a surprise to some families. Administrators replied that Oregon requires comprehensive, medically accurate growth and development instruction and that co‑educational delivery is recommended by some experts to foster communication and reduce stigma. Staff said families were offered opt‑out forms and that students who were excused received alternative assignments.

District staff acknowledged gaps in pre‑lesson notice and in distribution of opt‑out paperwork. They said some printed curriculum materials were kept in the office for parental review rather than broadly mailed, and administrators promised clearer, earlier communication before future lessons (including explicit notes when pictures or diagrams will be shown). One board member asked that any parent‑notice packet explicitly note if lessons will be co‑educational and whether diagrams or cartoon anatomical images will be used.

No disciplinary or policy action was taken at the meeting; the board asked staff to refine family communications for health lessons and to make curriculum materials available for parental review ahead of instruction.