Sarasota County School takes heat for showing graphic Planned Parenthood Vid (Image: Planned Parenthood vid)
A Sarasota County School District is taking heat from parents after a sexually graphic Planned Parenthood video was shown to teens at one of the schools. Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of abortions nationwide and has been exposed for covering up child sexual abuse in several states.
According to MySuncoast.Com, sex-ed instructor from SPARCC, the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center broke protocol by not having the video, called ‘When Someone Doesn’t Want to Have Sex: What is Consent? vetted first at Pine View High School. The incident was allegedly reported to school administration by two teachers and at least one parent, the paper noted.
District spokeswoman Tracey Beeker, told the paper that SPARCC “did not follow the correct process for guest speakers” by allowing the counselor into the school before their scheduled time and by “showing materials that had not been approved.”
A report by WFLA states that, “The video [seen below and different from the one shown at MySuncoast.com] was produced by Planned Parenthood and included footage of several couples, including men making out with other men and women kissing other women.”
In response, Board member, Bridget Ziegler Tweeted, “What do parental rights matter in K-12 ed? This video was shown to students during an AP Literature class. No parents were notified in advance. It was only after a student complained that parents & our board became aware. Warning: Mature Content.”
Sarasota County Schools board member on graphic Planned Parenthood Vid (Image: Twitter)
School board member Eric Robinson found the video uncomfortable, according to the interview he conducted with WFLA,“Its just unfortunate that they decided to use Planned Parenthood to get their message out,” said Robinson. “If parents had been notified about this, this could’ve been stopped off at the pass.”
An apology published by SPARCC on the school board’s website reads in part:
On November 7, an unsuitable video was shown to Pine View students that was not approved by the school district. After observing the video in class, a teacher notified school administration of their concern about the contents of the video, and an investigation was conducted. Previously, SPARCC had used an approved video to teach this coursework. After an initial investigation, it was discovered that a SPARCC counselor took it upon herself to show this video, knowing it had not been previously vetted, and broke curriculum protocol. In addition, school staff at Pine View did not follow the correct process for guest speakers by admitting this counselor in the school in advance of their appointment and showing materials that had not been approved.
In a statement from SPARCC, President and CEO, Jessica Hays wrote, “We sincerely apologize for the incident last Wednesday at Pine View. The staff member did not follow established protocol regarding the programming presented, and the organization has acted to ensure that this does not happen again. SPARCC has had a positive relationship with Sarasota County Schools that has spanned more than 15 years and we take the trust placed in our organization very seriously. Preventing domestic/dating violence and sexual assault is central to our mission and SPARCC aims to be a trusted resource for our community.”
Sarasota County Schools apology for showing graphic Planned Parenthood Vid (Image: Twitter)
“We appreciate SPARCC’s shared concerns regarding this incident,” noted Dr. Stephen Covert, principal at Pine View School. “I am thankful for their swift review of the events and apology to our students, staff, school leaders and families. Until now, SPARCC has been a trusted resource for our students and school community, however, I am disappointed that the action of one resulted in an unacceptable situation for our students. I want to assure our school community that we will follow district guidelines and will take extra precautions in the future to ensure only pre-approved materials are used in the classroom.”
Until a complete review is conducted, the school district has suspended SPARCC from presenting programming in Sarasota County schools. The district has also reinforced guest speaker protocols with school leaders and staff to ensure anyone presenting to students has a pre-approved set of curricula that is reviewed and accepted by the school principal.
Saynsumthn's Blog 