North East ISD trustees voted 6-0 on May 8 to approve sex education curriculum that district officials hope will undergo state review in time for it to be taught in middle and high school during the 2023-24 school year.

What happened

The school board essentially adopted a curriculum called Choosing the Best, which NEISD had employed until 2016.

District staff briefed trustees on a recommendation regarding human sexuality and abstinence education and abuse/violence prevention curriculum.

NEISD’s School Health Advisory Council, whose membership was overhauled and bylaws revised in the past year and a half, reviewed sex education curricula just as the district is wrapping up a school year in which it went without teaching any sex ed classes.

What’s next

District officials said the Choosing the Best program must still undergo review by district administrators, the curriculum’s publisher, and the SHAC’s Classroom Health and Sex Ed Committee for the program to be tailored to comply with 20 of 52 Texas Essentials Knowledge and Skills requirements.

Officials said they are hopeful part of the new curriculum will be ready for initial instruction at the start of the next school year.

The overview

Some meeting attendees and trustees acknowledged NEISD’s handling of its sex education curriculum in recent years with a previous curriculum called Big Decisions being dropped by SHAC members, who voiced worry over the publisher’s connections to a group seen partnering with Planned Parenthood on health programs for adolescents.

Other trustees and speakers said they sought a sex education curriculum that, in their eyes, provided an even stronger message against teenage sexual activity and birth control, or boasted a more conservative view on sexuality.