Valerie Huber and the National Education Abstinence Association's Lies

Watch out for Valerie Huber

The Associated press ran an article two days ago by Kimberly Hefling entitled "New sex education standards released" which provides an interesting example of everything that's wrong with political debate in this country. A bunch of groups got together and composed a new set of guidelines for sex education for classes from K-12 for US public schools. The groups include the American Association of Health Education, the American School Health Association, the National Education Association - Health Information Network, the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education, Advocates for Youth and the Future of Sex Education Initiative.

These groups got together and came up with a bunch of good, smart, reasonable recommendations, some of which Hefling covers:

By the end of second grade, the guidelines say students should use the correct body part names for the male and female anatomy, and also understand that all living things reproduce and that all people have the right to not be touched if they don't want to be. They also say young elementary school kids should be able to identity different kinds of family structures and explain why bullying and teasing are wrong.

Beyond lessons about puberty by the end of fifth grade, the guidelines say students should be able to define sexual harassment and abuse.

When they leave middle school, they should be able to differentiate between gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation, according to the guidelines. And the say they should be able to explain why a rape victim is not at fault, know about bullying and dating violence and describe the signs and impacts of sexually transmitted diseases.

It calls for those leaving eighth grade to also be able to evaluate the effectiveness of abstinence, condoms and other "safer sex methods" and know how emergency contraception works. Many of these issues the groups encouraged to be further addressed in high school as well.

The recommendations drew praise from other organizations, including members of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The entire report can be read here: Download in [PDF] format.

So that's a slam dunk, right? Those best trained and best qualified to render advice on what constitutes decent sex education for our children have given us an easy to follow instruction guide on what kids need to know and when. For the safety of these kids and the good of society, we should follow this advice, right?

Nope.

Because in our culture today, whenever someone who knows what they are talking about speaks, a reporter has to find some idiot with the exact opposite opinion, however uniformed or misinformed that person might be. The list of experts from reputable institutions that truly care about informing children openly and honestly and with the best information available are contested by religiously motivated zealot who can only blather on like a broken record.

Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Education Abstinence Association, said she does not agree with the topics and goals of the standards. Like the anti-smoking campaign of the last few decades that has had success, abstinence should be the focus of such programs, she said.

"This should be a program about health, rather than agendas that have nothing to do with optimal sexual health decision-making," Huber said. "Controversial topics are best reserved for conversations between parent and child, not in the classroom."

National Education Abstinence Association is a 501(c)4 organization, meaning that it can collect and distribute funds to advocate abstinence only sex education. According to its website the group is made up of leaders and groups that "represent a broad network of state abstinence coalitions, medical and youth development organizations, and diverse professionals," but of course no names are given. The Member Comments page is hilarious, because it's a list of compliments from anonymous "Abstinence Education Providers" identified only by the state they live in.

And who is Valerie Huber? Is she a doctor, or an expert in education? Does she have any actual expertise in anything?

Executive Director, Valerie Huber brings significant grass-roots and administrative experience to this position as former director of a community-based abstinence organization and former Title V Coordinator for the State of Ohio.

Nope. But she claims to be "an expert on the history of sex education as well as the public policy decision-making that has influenced how sex education is taught in communities across the nation." What else can we know about her? Scott Swenson of RH Reality Check wrote about her way back in 2007:

Abstinence-only programs she ran in Ohio contained "false or misleading information about abortion, contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases" so stated a study done by Case Western Reserve University Department of Public Health. According to Hypothetically Speaking, a bio of Huber states: "[her] program is still in its infancy, giving Valerie the unique opportunity to develop and fine-tune it. Valerie is infusing her Christian beliefs into this program."

It's just that some people's beliefs, Christian and otherwise, start with truth telling and respect for freedom of religion; they believe that is what kids should be taught and how government should be run. Huber is not a public health expert, but an outraged mom who started a program after her son's health teacher advised kids to use condoms if they were having sex. She parlayed her outrage into an abstinence-only program and was then appointed to a state job in the Ohio Department of Health by former Gov. Bob Taft (R-OH).

As the supervisor of the Ohio Department of Health's abstinence-only program, Huber attempted to secure a state contract for a company she was involved in. She was suspended by the department in 2006 when she was found guilty of ethics violations. Huber was represented by an attorney with ties to the Ohio Republican Party and the heir to the corrupt Taft regime, failed gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell, as reported in the Ohio newspaper, the Gay People's Chronicle.

So that's what's wrong with the country. On one side, we have experts who care, and want to make the world a better place. On the other side, we have liars and criminals who pretend expertise and purposely mislead people because of their religious beliefs and because running a 501(c)4 is better than working for a living.

And of course we have reporters like Kimberly Hefling willing to pretend that these two sides are somehow equally deserving of attention. The Valerie Hubers of the world only have the power we give them. If we continue to give credence to her kind of self-serving nonsense then our children will continue to suffer the consequences.