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The Helena School Board is taking the controversial human sexuality portion of the proposed health curriculum back to staff for some additions.

After a flood of public comment in recent weeks, the executive committee decided to push back its decision; the board was going to vote on the curriculum in August, but now Superintendent Bruce Messinger says it will be more like October.

Messinger noted, "What's lacking, in hindsight, probably we could have done some of this originally and it might have helped, but there was some compelling rationale why some of the terminology was used and why age it was used. We just thought it was important to capture that and provide rationale and explanation."

Messinger says some modifications will be made to the ages in which materials might be introduced.

He says the curriculum is still open for public comment.

(July 14, 2010) The new health curriculum being considered in Helena is drawing praise from some parents and criticism from others - and an incredible amount of attention (read original story, July 8).

More than 500 residents attended Tuesday's school board meeting in order to weigh in on the controversy. The school board heard public comment for two hours, with one hour allotted for advocates, and one hour for opponents. Two rooms holding 150 people each were filled inside, and approximately 200 people filled the parking lot in order to hear a live broadcast of the meeting.

The proposed curriculum outlines sex education topics for each grade, K through 12. In the first grade, children would be taught that human beings can love people of the same gender; in second grade, kids are taught not to make fun of people by calling them "gay" or "queer."

By fifth grade, they would be taught there are several types of intercourse, and by the sixth grade, the draft document states that students should, "Understand that sexual intercourse includes but is not limited to vaginal, oral, or anal penetration; using the penis, fingers, tongue or objects." Click here to read the entire document (PDF).

The board will have one more reading of the curriculum, and allow another opportunity to publicly comment, before it makes a decision at its August meeting.