New York City parents are giving mixed reviews to a new policy of mandatory sex education in public middle and high schools, reports the New York Daily News.
Some parents are pleased that schools are taking preventative measures to combat both teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
“I’m for it,” Mariana Sanoh, the Brooklyn mother of a 12-year-old girl, told the Daily News. “Girls who are younger and younger are getting pregnant. I’ve seen the boyfriends, the kissing, and the drama. I want my daughter to know right from wrong. The more knowledge the better.”
But other parents staunchly oppose the mandatory sex education. They believe that parents are the best teachers for such lessons.
Jamillah Salahuddin, also a Brooklyn mother to a young adolescent, has said she would remove her daughter from sex education class if at all possible.
“I’d prefer that schools stick to academics,” she told the Daily News. “We have a lot to cover besides sex ed.”
The new policy also is stirring trouble among certain religious groups. Mona Davids, a Bronx mother and president of the New York City Parents Union believes the policy is in conflict with her religious views.
“As a Muslim, I’m not comfortable with it,” she said. “They’re encroaching on our responsibilities as parents. They’re encroaching on our rights.”