Michigan school board seeks to warn 6th graders on dangers of porn before it's 'too late'
A Michigan public school board considered adding a pornography lesson to the curriculum for sixth graders, with some arguing that the material will have more of an impact on the younger students compared to high schoolers.
Portage Public Schools teaches the lesson on pornography to ninth graders as part of the district's Human Growth and Development course. During a school board meeting last Monday, the board reviewed recommendations for changing the curriculum, such as moving the lesson from ninth grade to sixth.
Michelle Karpinski, the community relations manager for Portage Public Schools, told The Christian Post that Human Growth and Development is a component of the health education curriculum for K-12 schools in Michigan. CP was provided with a document outlining the standards for the curriculum by grade level.
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"As part of these requirements, for years, our high school health class has included a lesson on the harmful impacts of pornography," Karpinski stated. "However, students consistently reported that this information came too late."
Portage Public Schools partnered with the educational consultant Protect Young Eyes to develop age-appropriate lessons for sixth graders, according to Karpinski.
"Most sixth graders have their own cell phones and can unintentionally access inappropriate content," she explained. "With exposure to platforms like TikTok and YouTube, etc. students encounter a wide range of relationship models — some of which are unhealthy. Avoiding these topics can create confusion and shame, so we believe it is essential for trained adults to provide clear, factual guidance to help students navigate digital spaces safely."
"To be clear, this lesson does not show pornography," Karpinski added. "It focuses on what students should do if they encounter inappropriate content."
A document outlining the changes, provided to the board on Jan. 22, cited younger students' increasing access to technology as the reason for switching the course to a younger grade level.
"The lesson has been revised to be age-appropriate for 6th-grade students," the document stated. "The focus is on promoting healthy relationships, distinguishing social media content from reality, and equipping students with strategies to handle exposure to inappropriate materials."
Parents had the opportunity to view slides related to the lesson at three school board meetings, Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive reported Sunday. Some of the slides underwent changes based on parental feedback, and a few parents also objected to the use of the word "pornography" in the lesson.
In response, PPS Director of Curriculum Tracy Speaker-Gerstheimer said that the administration felt that the lesson needed to use the word, as the issue is the topic of the discussion.
Anne Schnurstein, a healthy living teacher at Portage West Middle School, said that the pornography lesson "should be moved down to a younger grade level so that it can make more of an impact for students."
In addition to the pornography lesson, the school board considered changes to the HIV/AIDS curriculum. The Jan. 22 document outlining the changes to the board provided a link to a video that explains how the virus moves through the human body and attacks the immune system.
The document's recommendations suggested using the new video to replace one it asserted is "outdated," in addition to updating the PowerPoint used for teaching students about HIV/AIDS.
The changes discussed during the school board meeting in January will be up for a vote at a later meeting, Gazette/MLive reported.
The impact of pornography on young people and how to protect minors from accessing porn websites continues to be a relevant topic of discussion as states pass age verification laws like the one in Texas.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court considered Texas' age verification law, House Bill 1181. A decision is expected this summer. Under HB 1181, any website with more than a third of "sexual material harmful to minors" must implement comprehensive age verification measures.
After the law was passed in 2023, pornography distributors challenged it, claiming that a law requiring them to verify age violated the First Amendment and user privacy rights. That same year, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office could enforce the law while litigation continues.
A supporter of the Texas bill, Rachel Robison, shared her story last month during a briefing at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation headquarters. The young woman said she was exposed to pornography at 7 years old during a playdate, which led to an addiction that lasted over a decade.
As a result of pornographic content exposure as a minor, she struggled with a distorted view of sex and various mental health issues. Robison revealed she was sexually assaulted as a teenager but didn't know how to feel about the experience because porn had conditioned her to believe consent didn't matter.
"The porn industry taught me that I was an object," Robison said. "That being hit, degraded and used is not only normal but a turn-on in my place as a woman in the world. And if I did not consent, then that is OK because I am just an object of pleasure."
While the advocate says she still suffers from nightmares and hypersensitivity to sexual content, Robison told attendees she is now "10 years clean from self-harm" and "four years sober from porn."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
