Sanger Unified School District in the Central Valley is not likely to offer a college art class again after parents, including a school board member, criticized the course for showing sexually explicit material to high school students in dual enrollment.
The college art course included graphic content, including materials such as “find my G spot,” based on information shared with EdSource and reported on by news outlets.
Last week, parents packed a board meeting to urge district leadership to improve the course content review process and notify families when students could be exposed to such material, KMPH reported.
The Reedley College course, which enrolled Sanger Unified high school students, was Art 2 Introduction to Visual Culture, The San Joaquin Valley Sun reported. It was taught this summer.
The class is a part of a dual enrollment program with Reedley College, Fresno City College and Clovis Community College in the State Center Community College District.
The curriculum and course requirements are established by Reedley College and are not modified for high school students because the classes are college courses, the school district said.
Still, Sanger Unified Superintendent Dennis Wiechmann, in an email responding to board members’ concerns, said, “We believe parents should have the information necessary to make an informed decision regarding their student’s participation,” The Sun reported.
A spokesperson for the community college district in a statement to The Sun said participation in dual enrollment is “voluntary and requires approval from the student, parent/guardian, high school counselor and school principal.”
But parents at last week’s board meeting said families were not given enough information about what students could encounter, according to KMPH. Some parents said the material was inappropriate for children.
Ranetta Bron, a board member and parent of a student who took the course, said in an email to her colleagues that the district is responsible for the courses it offers its students and the information it provides parents.
KMPH reported that administrators indicated the district likely will not allow Sanger students to take the course moving forward. However, Bron said she wants to establish a review process in board policy.
“The concern is whether the district should knowingly offer that course to minors without first considering whether it is an appropriate fit for our dual enrollment program and without ensuring that parents have sufficient information to make an informed enrollment decision,” Bron said in the emails shared with EdSource. “Parents should never be placed in a position where they discover the nature of this material only after the course has begun, or worse yet — once it is complete.”
Wiechmann, The Sun reported, said the district will “enhance the information” provided during the enrollment process to better explain that college courses may include mature content. The district will also work to ensure that parents have the opportunity to review the course syllabus as soon as it becomes available.
This story was originally published by EdSource.