A group that crafted the curriculum standards used by the Austin Independent School District (AISD) for its human sexuality curriculum has published “homeschool-style sex ed resources” for the era of COVID-19, including lessons that teach kids about pornography.
Advocates for Youth is one of three groups that developed the “National Sexuality Education Standards,” which AISD trustees adopted as the basis for a curriculum that was scheduled to be taught in Austin schools this spring for the first time — before COVID-19 disrupted that plan.
The group operates a project called AMAZE, which publishes videos on YouTube about sexual health topics. Earlier this month, AMAZE released a video about pornography. “Is it normal to watch porn?” the narrator of the video asks, before answering, “Yes! It’s normal!”
“Lots of people watch porn. After all, it’s right there and it’s free. And anyway, many people are curious about this sex stuff.”
AMAZE’s video goes on to caution that pornography is not a real representation of sex, but it does not mention any common moral objections, mental health effects, or the fact that pornography exploits women who have been trafficked or abused.
The AMAZE video series began a few years ago, but Advocates for Youth is using the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to push out new content and promote its existing videos. “In light of COVID-19, we’re rolling out an at-home sex ed series via our Facebook page,” the group said in an email to subscribers. “Every weekday we’ll share helpful videos.”
The video series also addresses topics like gender identity, sexual orientation, and abortion. A video published about a month ago explains step-by-step how a girl can get an abortion.
For its part, Concerned Parents of Texas denounced Advocates for Youth as “a radical pro-abortion organization” that encourages children to “experiment with risky sexual behaviors and to reject traditional moral values regarding sexuality and identity.”
According to the AMAZE project website, both the creative and administrative aspects of the project are run by Advocates for Youth, though other organizations play a role as well. Two Planned Parenthood affiliates are involved in an advisory capacity.
The relationship between the Austin public school district and Advocates for Youth breaks down into three areas:
- Advocates for Youth developed the “National Sexuality Education Standards” used by AISD;
- AISD’s new sex ed curriculum directs students to the AMAZE YouTube series at least once; and
- AISD and Advocates for Youth are currently engaged in a contract or contract talks.
According to a database of procurement information on the AISD website, Advocates for Youth recently entered into contract negotiations with AISD for a vendor contract.
On March 19, 2019, Debra Hauser, the president of Advocates for Youth and the project manager of the video series, filed a Conflict of Interest questionnaire with AISD, which is a standard form used in procurement.
Texas law requires a vendor to fill out such a form within seven business days of having begun “discussions or negotiations to enter into a contract with the local governmental entity,” or after having responded to a request for proposal, correspondence, or other “writing related to a potential contract with the local governmental entity,” according to the Local Government Code.
Honest Austin has submitted a public information request to AISD for more information about the business relationship between AISD and Advocates for Youth.
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