Sarasota School District investigating ‘inappropriate’ Planned Parenthood video shown to seniors

SARASOTA (WWSB) - A Planned Parenthood video called ‘When Someone Doesn’t Want to Have Sex: What is Consent?’ is causing some outrage in Sarasota County after the district confirms it was show to high school seniors.

According to the district, on November 7th, the video was shown to mostly seniors Pine View High School students and was reported to school administration by two teachers and at least one parent.

District spokeswoman Tracey Beeker says that SPARCC, the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center, in Sarasota has been teaching health education classes at the district for five years. Beeker says one of their counselors took it upon themselves to show the video, calling it “inappropriate based on curriculum guidelines” and “not approved or sanctioned by the school district.”

Beeker says the counselor broke protocol by not having the video vetted first and staff at Pine View “did not follow the correct process for guest speakers” by allowing the counselor into the school before their scheduled time and by “showing materials that had not been approved.”

Jessica Hays, President and CEO of SPARCC, said in a statement, “We sincerely apologize for the incident last Wednesday at Pine View. The staff member did not follow established protocol regarding the programming presented, and the organization has acted to ensure that this does not happen again. SPARCC has had a positive relationship with Sarasota County Schools that has spanned more than 15 years and we take the trust placed in our organization very seriously. Preventing domestic/dating violence and sexual assault is central to our mission and SPARCC aims to be a trusted resource for our community.”

Until a complete review is conducted, the school district has suspended SPARCC from presenting programming in Sarasota County schools. The district has also reinforced guest speaker protocols with school leaders and staff to ensure anyone presenting to students has a pre-approved set of curricula that is reviewed and accepted by the school principal.

“We appreciate SPARCC’s shared concerns regarding this incident,” said Dr. Stephen Covert, principal at Pine View School. “I am thankful for their swift review of the events and apology to our students, staff, school leaders and families. Until now, SPARCC has been a trusted resource for our students and school community, however, I am disappointed that the action of one resulted in an unacceptable situation for our students. I want to assure our school community that we will follow district guidelines and will take extra precautions in the future to ensure only pre-approved materials are used in the classroom.”Copyright 2018 WWSB. All rights reserved.