ST. LOUIS – The Parkway School District is contemplating changes to its sex education curriculum to include discussions about gender identity, but many parents and students are speaking out against the move.

District officials are updating the health curriculum for the first time since 2008, and a current proposal before the school board would expand lessons to include topics like gender identity. Parents are concerned the topics – which would undoubtedly include talks about transgender, bi, gay, lesbian and other types of abnormal relationships – are better discussed at home, and worry the revamped sex education curriculum could undermine family values, KSDK reports.

“I don’t want people getting into this whole LGBTQ mindset in school, because it could just throw them off for life,” Parkway student Rob Roseman told board members at a meeting last Wednesday, according to the news site.

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School officials said the goal is to provide a safe place for transgender or other sexually abnormal students to discuss sex-related issues, and they plan to start as early as elementary school.

“Fender identity discussions will begin at the elementary school level over the course of at least four heath education classes,” KSDK reports. “Middle and high school students will have 6-8 classes devoted to gender issues, and healthy relationships – which include topics like homosexuality, and age of consent.”

Parkway health and physical education curriculum coordinator Ron Ramspott said “society has introduced this topic, this conversation to our students.

“Schools haven’t introduced it,” he said. “We are trying to provide a context to have safe, respectful conversations.”

“Our goal, our intent is to reduce the discrimination, marginalization of a population of our students,” Ramspott told school board members, pointing out the district currently has transgender students, KSDK reports.

Parents told the board they believe discussions about controversial sexual behavior and perspectives are best left at home.

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“Many times our family values may conflict with outside influences, including those presented in class, as acceptable,” Parkway parent Rob Roseman said.

The district’s new sex education curriculum could be approved by the school board next month, and would go into effect districtwide in January if approved. The update would also cover topics like sexting and internet predators, KSDK reports.

The changes in St. Louis come as abortion provider Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation gear up for a national push to expand sex education in schools to cover lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, the Boston Globe reports.

“There is so much difference of opinion in this country about what kids should learn about sexuality that the default position of a lot of schools is just to do the bare minimum to not invite controversy. By doing that we are missing the mark,” said Ellen Kahn, director with the Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based gay rights group.

Yet, regardless of the controversial nature of the lessons, the Foundation and Planned Parenthood are pushing to expand the number of schools tackling abnormal sexual behavior. Currently, the Planned Parenthood sex education curriculum is in 200 schools across seven states, according to the Globe.

“Some of the lessons now encouraged by Massachusetts — material aimed at middle school students — teach different aspects of sexual identity, such as how biological sex may differ from gender identity and sexual orientation. The term ‘partner’ is used instead of ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend.’ Protection from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is discussed in terms of specific sexual behavior and body parts,” the news site reports.

Massachusetts Family Institute president Andrew Beckwith said many parents don’t like how Planned Parenthood’s curriculum works to “normalize homosexuality,” and believes it promotes ideas many find offensive.

Step-by-step condom guides for “vaginal, oral or anal sex,” as well as lessons about how to use plastic wrap to protect against STDs during oral sex are over the line, he told the Globe.

“If you’re teaching about the birds and the bees, there’s no need to talk about anal and oral sex. It has nothing to do with reproduction. These would be new concepts certainly for my 12 year old,” Beckwith said. “For an issue as sensitive — and frankly even in Massachusetts, still controversial — as human sexuality, you want to start with parents to make sure schools don’t do anything to undermine their values.”

According to the Globe:

The number of middle and high schools offering any sex education that relates to LGBT students varies dramatically by state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Massachusetts leads the nation with nearly 44 percent of secondary schools; Georgia comes in last, at 8 percent.

Legislatures in eight states have banned discussing homosexuality in a positive manner as part of a school curriculum. They are Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.