A Pennsylvanian private school teacher has reportedly been using graphic images and videos to teach sex education to 11th and 12th graders, eliciting debate over what constitutes school-appropriate content.
Al Vernacchio, an English teacher and sexuality education coordinator for Friends’ Central School in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, allegedly showed his students graphic photos of penises and vulvas in his sexuality class. This apparently even included a video of a woman ejaculating, FOX News reported.
According to the school, students could not enroll in the course without parental consent. Vernacchio also allowed students to opt out of the presentation.
Vernacchio has reportedly been working at the school for two decades and also maintains its “sexuality curriculum,” which offers students in the fourth grade and up sex education allegedly tailored to their age group, according to the Daily Mail.
Friends’ Central School expressed support for Vernacchio in a statement to FOX News:
“Al Vernacchio is a nationally renowned and highly respected educator. It is disappointing that his work and our School are being miscast so thoroughly. Friends’ Central is committed to cultivating the intellectual, ethical and spiritual promise of our students, in a world that needs that more than ever.”
In an interview with The New York Times back in November 2011, Vernacchio told the news outlet, “When God was passing out talents … I got ease in talking about sex.”
He explained that showing graphic visuals to his students was about “desensitizing them” to what genitals actually look like.
The Daily Mail reported on comments Vernacchio apparently made at a “Sexual Freedom Summit” about providing sex education curricula for a broad age range of students at Friends’ Central School:
“That’s a huge range but every single one of those kids is a sexual being. They have been since birth … And at every age and stage we can offer them age appropriate, transformative sexuality education.”
It was not immediately clear to what extent Vernacchio’s lessons range in terms of content, such as explicit visuals, in order to be “age appropriate.”
But some advocacy organizations claim that providing detailed sex education to young people is critical, including for reasons such as preventing sexual assault.
“In addition to learning about sexually transmitted infections … and unintended pregnancies, young people should learn about sexual assault, how to protect themselves, and how to identify sources of support. Research shows that comprehensive sex education … can help prevent sexual assault,” according to the nonprofit Sexuality Information and Education Council.
That argument, however, does not hold water for everyone, especially those concerned about the potential for “grooming” in classrooms.
“[A]nytime you start to desensitize kids and normalize certain behaviors, then it makes it easier for someone who wants to recruit them for sex trafficking, or anything else, because the kids don’t know the difference,” said Rick Stevens, a founder of the education advocacy organization Florida Citizens Alliance, speaking with The Washington Post last April.
Indeed, the debate over what constitutes appropriate sexual education is far from settled. This is especially true in North Texas.
A recent uproar at the Fort Worth ISD, covered by The Dallas Express, saw the district dropping its curriculum provider after some parents discovered that the program would contain more expansive content on gender identity and transgender topics.
Another North Texas school district, Lewisville ISD, also prompted backlash after it hosted external links on its website that took students to “Queer Sex Ed” content.
“Directing students to an online chatroom to secretly talk about ‘Queer Sex Ed’ with strangers is harmful and potentially dangerous, and there is no educational value provided from that,” said Kelly Neidert of Protect Texas Kids, speaking with The Dallas Express back in October 2022.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, Dallas ISD also provoked controversy by allegedly allowing sexually-graphic materials to be available to students at school libraries. This went on despite the protests of some parents and community members.
“It’s offensive and completely inappropriate for our children,” said Dallas community member Tami Brown Rodriquez, speaking with The Dallas Express about one graphic novel, which has since been removed from DISD library shelves. It featured an illustration of two adolescents engaging in a sex act.
The Dallas Express reached out to both Vernacchio and Friends’ Central School for comment but did not receive any by press time.
