01:00 AM EST on Thursday, March 17, 2005

BY JENNIFER LEVITZ
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- An unexpected skirmish in the nation's cultural war broke out at the State House last night as lawmakers debated a bill that would give Rhode Island schools a more explicit sex-education program.

Homeschoolers, a rabbi, and a father of 11 were among the crowd that packed the hallways debating societal influences, from Roger Williams to rapper 50 Cent.

The bill by Rep. Elizabeth M. Dennigan, D-East Providence, died in committee the last two years and wasn't voted on yesterday. It would specifically emphasize abstinence, but would not shy from instituting specific guidelines for "age appropriate" curriculum. That could mean a coloring book on "good touch versus bad touch" for children, to facts about sexually transmitted diseases for teenagers.

Rhode Island currently has guidelines for teaching sensitive topics, usually couched in terms of "health," but Dennigan, a nurse, says the curriculum is overly broad, and that the teaching varies from district to district.

The most controversial part of her bill is a clause that would bar teaching sex education based on the values of any religion.

That had Rhode Island's strongly Christian homeschool community buzzing by e-mail this week, and dozens of them showed up last night, standing in the hall because the hearing room was overflowing.

The bustle toned down a bit when Dennigan explained that she would add an amendment to the bill to exempt homeschool parents. But that didn't stop some of the citizens from seeing the legislation as an attack on their values.

"We're here trying to defend our beliefs. We're always hearing about the separation of church and state," said Mark Van Dusen, a 42-year-old technical writer, there with his wife and three children. "But it's one-sided. They're always pushing our faith out of everything."

Dennigan's proposed sexual-education curriculum would, she emphasized, allow any parent to sign a waiver and "opt out." But the overall law, which would include education on family planning and encourage family communication about sexuality, would still apply to all public schools, a weighty idea in Rhode Island, often described as the most Roman Catholic state in the country.

A Providence College professor was literally spinning in disbelief at the bill. English Prof. Tony Esolen, clutching a book of Petrarch poetry, stood in the State House rotunda, turning slowly. Gazing up, he translated the Latin inscription on the gilded dome. "Happy the land where many may think what he will and speak what he thinks."

"That's Roger Williams all over" he said. "That's why this state was founded. To him, that means he should never be compelled to teach his children sex outside the context of his Catholic faith."

James A. Miller, a University of Rhode Island professor and a certified sex-education instructor, handed out data saying the state's teenage pregancy rate is among the worst in the nation, 47th out of 50. He also tossed condoms and pennies on the table and asked legislators if they'd rather spend pennies to teach facts about sex or -- and then he started tossing dollar bills -- big bucks on teenage moms and welfare.

He said the debate wasn't over sex, it was over ideology, and a cultural war that was employing young people as fodder.

The state Department of Education was noticeably absent and had not relayed any communication for or against the bill. Committee members said they needed answers before voting. Rep. Raymond J. Sullivan Jr., D-Coventry, said the state was walking a fine line, and could potentially be legislating morality. On the other hand, he worries about young people who live in homes where no one is talking about sex, and who could be vulnerable to teenage pregnancy and such.

The State House testimony had some incongruous moments. Janet Hirsch, a human-sexuality professor emeritus at the University of Rhode Island, talked about the need to give information to children in a culturally sensitive way.

For instance, she said, young people today might have different names for sexual organs than years ago. "Penises have been described so many ways. The penis issue for me at my age, and the penis issue at age 14 are totally different."

The Van Dusen family from Westerly was asked by a reporter if they plan to to warn their children about teenage sex someday. The Van Dusens, who homeschool using a curriculum from a Pentacostal Christian church, said they will trust that their children follow the Bible.

"If you anticipate something negative about your children, they will end up meeting that," said Beth Van Dusen, a 28-year-old stay-at-home mother. "If you anticipate your child having sex, they will end up having sex."

Lita Pona, however, said she's watching her sons, ages 12, 11, and 9, for signs that they're doing things they ought not to be. "They are not facing reality," she said of the dissenters around her. "Our kids are having sex younger and younger every day."

At one point, to show that young people already know plenty about sex, Rep. Richard W. Singleton, R-Cumberland, held up a front-page story from The Narragansett Times that said some students had been suspended for "inappropriate behavior" on a bus during a field trip to Quebec.

"I don't think we have a sex problem," he said. "We have a morality problem."