Sex ed materials given to Modesto students by Christian group questioned by California AG

The Modesto Pregnancy Center was sent a letter from California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday morning demanding that it prove its sexual education given to area students is “medically accurate and unbiased,” according to a release.

The letter said the curriculum given to students of Modesto City Schools may not comply with state law, according to information on the Pregnancy Center’s website and complaints the California Department of Justice received from parents.

The Pregnancy Center, also known as Personal Health Now, is asked to substantiate the materials it provides to local schools, prove that it did not omit information on students’ rights to access abortion services and that it did not falsely advertise its services. Failing to do so, could result in “further action,” according to the letter.

As of Monday morning, The Modesto Bee had not learned which schools received curriculum from the Pregnancy Center or what exactly the curriculum was.

“The California Healthy Youth Act requires California public schools, including charter schools, to provide comprehensive sexual health education,” reads a statement from Bonta that’s included in the release. “The education is required at least once in middle school and at least once in high school. All instruction in all grades must be age appropriate, medically accurate and may not promote religious doctrine.”

The Pregnancy Center is a faith-based nonprofit organization that opened in 1990. According to its 2022 tax exception filings, it stated that its mission is “dedicated to protecting the unborn, providing for those facing crisis pregnancies and post-abortion trauma and promoting healthy relationships through a system of support with the love of Jesus Christ.”

The Pregnancy Center has 20 calendar days to respond to the DOJ’s letter. The letter asks the Pregnancy Center to provide the following: “business records, memoranda, or other documents [that] should include any and all tests, analyses, research, studies, or other evidence based on the expertise of professionals in the relevant area, which have been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner by qualified persons, using procedures generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.”

Modesto City Schools stated that as of 12:30 p.m. Monday, it had not received any communication from the Attorney General’s Office but “will be glad to review it.” MCS stated that it is in the process of reviewing its curriculum and that parents have been invited to participate in this process.

“The review is a detailed and comprehensive process, during which parents and school and district leadership have every opportunity to make their voices heard,” read the school district’s statement. “As with any new curriculum, we support parents’ rights to make decisions that are in the best interest of their family, which includes the right to opt out of comprehensive sexual health education curriculum.”

MCS said it would not respond to The Modesto Bee’s list of questions until it had formal received communication from the Department of Justice.

The Bee reached out to the Modesto Pregnancy Center for comment. All questions were referred to its legal team.