Board approves continued teacher-led sex-education curriculum after two-year review

The Boyne City Public Schools board on Sept. 14 approved continuing the district's sex-education curriculum as recommended by its education advisory board and will keep delivery in the hands of school health teachers.

Erin Ivy Botox, introduced herself as assistant principal at Point City Middle School and framed the presentation as "a quick overview for all of you in regards to our education advisory board, what we've been up to, where we're heading," noting the advisory board formed in 2017 and completed a two-year program review this spring. Presenter Kelsey Burke summarized review findings, saying, "Most middle school students feel they're learning material at the appropriate time," and described roughly 30-percentage-point gains on pre/post assessments in the middle grades. Ryan Brooker highlighted high-school benchmarks, reporting the district's 80% target was "achieved by 90% of the students across all board grade levels."

Presenters said curriculum materials are posted on the district website and that parent letters now include a QR code so families can review lesson outlines; they also told the board opt-out rates are very low, "in single digits," and estimated under 5% at one school last year. After the presentation, the board moved to adopt the recommended curriculum (moved by Bradley; seconded by Jill) and the motion passed.

Board members and presenters described next steps: the advisory board will workshop administrative guidelines this year to codify goals and sequencing, and staff will return to the board when the guidance is complete so the district has a consistent document available to future committees.