An exterior view of the Clark County School District administrative offices Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023 | 2 a.m.
The Clark County School District will take another look this week at a teacher-authored abstinence lesson that could become part of the districtwide sex education curriculum.
The district’s Sex Education Advisory Committee, which is tasked with giving initial approvals of educational materials to be included in sex ed for all ages, will take a second look at an item titled “Introduction to Abstinence,” a slideshow created for high school health by committee member and Lyon Middle School teacher Kasey Kowitz.
“At CCSD our curriculum in sex ed should help the kids to know the benefits of abstinence and be empowered to know that they can choose abstinence,” Kowitz, who teaches physical education and health at the Overton school, said in October after he initially submitted the slideshow for committee approval.
The rest of the committee unanimously rejected the lesson so it could be revised. Members of the committee and public said at the time that the original content was judgmental and shaming, and suggested that it include language on consent, coercion and pressure, and sexual assault. Others said it was not inclusive of people who do not identify as straight.
One slide that some people took particular issue with was titled “Be prepared to say ‘NO!’” and said to “avoid putting yourself into risky situations where you might be pressured into having sex before you are ready. Be prepared to say ‘NO!’ in a way that no one can misunderstand.”
Kowitz said he intended for students to know how to tell other people to respect their boundaries and did not intend to make students who have been assaulted feel at fault.
Kowitz abstained from the Oct. 20 vote but said he would be willing to edit the presentation, which he said would be an introductory lecture as students begin their broader sex ed unit.
The revised slideshow includes four slides up front that stress that sexual assault is a crime and not the victim’s fault, and that nobody should pressure or force someone to have sex before they’re ready. He also deleted the “be prepared to say ‘no’” language.
If the committee okays the lesson materials, it would go to the School Board for final approval.
The committee meets at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Greer Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Road in Las Vegas.
