School sparks outrage over 'appalling' assignment: 'I can’t fathom a teacher putting that on a test'

A school district in Texas says it has taken "corrective action" after a ninth-grade homework assignment sparked outrage among parents.

The biology assignment, which was given to around 90 students at Klein Collins High School last Friday, included a question involving sexual assault, KPRC-TV reported.

"Suzy was assaulted in an alley and is a victim of rape," the assignment read. "The police collected a sample of sperm that was left at the crime scene and now have three suspects in custody. Which of the suspects raped Suzy?"

Multiple parents shared their anger over the question on Facebook, with the Independent reporting that some called it both "appalling" and "upsetting." Others told local news outlets they were shocked to hear the school would condone such an assignment.

"It's upsetting and I know girls this age, just the thought ... they know that rape is forced non-consensual sex and that upsets them," Cookie VonHaven, who has a daughter in 10th at Klein Collins, told KPRC-TV. "That’s why I can’t fathom a teacher putting that on a test."

The Klein Independent School District echoed parents' confusion regarding the controversy, releasing a statement that said the assignment was not part of its "approved curriculum and is by no means representative of the district’s instructional philosophy."

Although the teacher who created the assignment has not been named, the district added that it had "investigated the source of the materials" and taken "corrective action." It did not specify, however, what that action entailed.

The sexual assault question is just the latest in a string of controversial class assignments in recent weeks.

Last month, an elementary school in Washington, D.C., came under fire when a black fifth-grader was asked to portray a slave as part of a class assignment. In November, a teacher in Pennsylvania was criticized for creating an assignment in which students had to role play as refugees being forced to leave their home as President Trump tried to "take control of the United States."