When Planned Parenthood came into her freshman health class, Sage Zahnd was relieved to talk about consent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something that a lot of teenagers get to hear about,\u201d the 14-year-old Thunder Mountain High School student said. \u201cHow to say no if you aren\u2019t comfortable with doing something, and I think that\u2019s really important to hear about.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it wasn\u2019t just a school lesson; Zahnd has applied what she learned to real life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had some interactions with people where they were just too close or touching me, not in a sexual way, but in a way that made me uncomfortable. It really helped being able to think, like, here\u2019s the way I can explain it without necessarily making them feel bad, but making the message clear to them that I didn\u2019t like what they were doing,\u201d Zahnd said.<\/p>\n
Fellow TMHS freshman Catherine Marks said learning about consent \u201cis so relevant\u201d and doesn\u2019t just apply to sex or being physical. \u201cThere\u2019s also the issue of consent if people offer you alcohol or something,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Juneau-Douglas High School student Theo Houck started the Gender Sexuality Alliance at school. He said Planned Parenthood provides resources to the club \u201cabout sexual education for LGBTQ+ people, which is something we don\u2019t get in our health classes almost at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houck, Marks and Zahnd were part of a crowd of about 25 teenagers outside the Alaska State Capitol Thursday afternoon. They were there to show support for Planned Parenthood in their schools, something that could go away if Senate Bill 191 passes the Alaska Legislature. Sponsor Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, introduced the bill in a committee hearing that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the ones who are going to be affected by this bill. We\u2019re the ones who Planned Parenthood won\u2019t be able to come in and educate, so it\u2019s important for them to see that the youth really care about this,\u201d Marks said before the hearing.<\/p>\n
Senate Bill 191 would restrict providers of abortion services and its affiliates from teaching or distributing materials in public schools, and impose sanctions if violated.<\/p>\n
Reading from his sponsor statement during the bill\u2019s introduction Thursday, Dunleavy said few parents \u201cbelieve schools should create a captive audience of children for indoctrination by an outside group. At times, these presentations contain lessons which are at odds with the values of the children and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Juneau School District, the bill would mean no more Planned Parenthood and its peer education program, Teen Council, in the classrooms. Senate Bill 89, also sponsored by Dunleavy, would impose the same restrictions. It passed the Senate last month.<\/p>\n
Throughout Alaska, Planned Parenthood provides education to about 2,000 students every year, according to spokesman Erik Houser. Juneau students account for about a quarter of that figure, and the demand continues to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir educator is really effective at working with teens and does a really nice job of delivering sensitive information in a way that kids listen,\u201d said Kristin Garot, principal at Yaakoosg\u00e9 Daakah\u00eddi Alternative High School and Montessori Borealis.<\/p>\n
Garot said the high school has been implementing Planned Parenthood resources for at least 10 years. Montessori Borealis teachers have been inviting the organization\u2019s educator to help teach parts of the health curriculum to middle school students for the past couple of years.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I think it\u2019s easier for students to ask someone that they don\u2019t see everyday in the classroom some sensitive questions,\u201d Garot said. She said teachers and school counselors are present during the lessons. Garot sometimes attends as well.<\/p>\n
She values having Planned Parenthood and its community outreach educator, Cori Stennett, as a resource. Without her, Garot said the schools would be lacking in effective health education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it would just be really challenging for us to make sure our kids get the most up-to-date and correct information. Cori is a person who\u2019s constantly learning. We\u2019re having her in to talk about those difficult things, like human sexuality, and it\u2019s really nice to have a professional who does that well,\u201d Garot said.<\/p>\n
Including Yaakoosg\u00e9 Daakah\u00eddi and Montessori Borealis, Stennett visits nine of the 13 schools in the district.<\/p>\n
Dunleavy\u2019s concerns resonates with at least one Southeast parent, if not students. Sitka parent Ed Gray was outraged when, a few years ago, a Planned Parenthood staff member helped teach sexual education in a middle school classroom. At the time, his sixth-grade son was enrolled in a home school program, but he had heard the news from other parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI value unborn children as much as born children and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve always passed on to my children,\u201d Gray said in an interview Friday.<\/p>\n
He said it\u2019s inappropriate to allow an organization that provides abortions into the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the job of the parent to establish values,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Stennett, Planned Parenthood\u2019s community outreach educator in Juneau, agrees with that last point.<\/p>\n
Her lessons and discussions in the Juneau classrooms do not mention abortion. It\u2019s not part of the district\u2019s health curriculum.<\/p>\n
If a student were to ask about abortion during a health class, Stennett said she\u2019d acknowledge the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe might say that it is a medical procedure that can be performed to end a pregnancy and there are a lot of different values and views in society about that, and we would encourage them to talk to a trusted adult or to ask their parents or family about it,\u201d Stennett said. \u201cAnd then I would say, \u2018That\u2019s not what I\u2019m here to talk about and we\u2019re not going to focus on that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Principal Garot said she\u2019s never heard Stennett talk about abortion in the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe focus on what the teachers ask us to come in and teach about,\u201d Stennett said. Those topics include puberty, abstinence, pregnancy prevention, healthy relationships, boundaries and communication.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work to help kids think about their decisions so they can be critical thinkers, make healthy decisions and be healthy young people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Juneau Superintendent Mark Miller said the district empowers its teachers to use outside resources that are appropriate to the curriculum. Those organizations and agencies include Discovery Southeast, AWARE, Perseverance Theatre, Sealaska Heritage Institute, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation and the Juneau Police Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see (Planned Parenthood) as being different than any other resource that teachers, using their professional opinion, implement to make sure the curriculum is taught with fidelity and integrity,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think barring an organization in its entirety from having any input or any access to the school is fraught with peril. I think when you paint organizations with a broad brush, you run into trouble,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Empire was not able to schedule an interview with Dunleavy, despite requests. An aide on his staff familiar with the bill referred all questions to him.<\/p>\n
Deanna Hobbs, a 17-year-old TMHS senior, helped organized the group of Juneau teenagers at the Capitol on Thursday. She\u2019s part of Planned Parenthood\u2019s Teen Council in Juneau.<\/p>\n
When it fits her school schedule, she and other members of the 10-member group help Stennett facilitate classroom discussions on healthy relationships and healthy sexuality.<\/p>\n
She said Dunleavy\u2019s bill would have negative consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think teens would get less sexual education as a whole and they\u2019d be more likely to get STIs or have unplanned pregnancies. And if what this bill is after is to lower abortion rates, I don\u2019t think this is way that would effectively lower them,\u201d Hobbs said.<\/p>\n
Alaska\u2019s teen pregnancy rate is higher than the national average, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the state ranked number one for chlamydia.<\/p>\n
Eighteen-year-old Andrew Ingle was another Juneau teen at the Capitol. He\u2019s Catholic and pro-life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe education that Planned Parenthood and Teen Council provide is not only sexual related, but also relationships, sexual assault, respect for women \u2014 all the stuff we really need more of,\u201d Ingle said. \u201cThis bill doesn\u2019t help any problems that we have in the school. This bill, instead, takes away education that does legitimately help a lot of issues we have in the school.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact reporter Lisa Phu at 523-2246 or lisa.phu@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"