Yesterday I wrote about how Giuliani supported McCain's sex ed attack ad even though, as mayor, his own school system had sex ed for kindergartners. The line Giuliani used has also been used by others such as Rush Limbaugh: the Illinois bill wasn't just about preventing inappropriate touching, since it also had language about HIV prevention education starting in kindergarten. Ew! Who could support such a thing?
Well, the Bush administration does.
First, let's have a look at the 2003 policy statement for the state board of education for Tennessee, not the most socially liberal of states. See page 6:
The HIV prevention education program shall:
• Be taught at every level, kindergarten through grade twelve;
• Follow content guidelines prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Whoa! Not only does Tennessee do this- it does this at the behest of the CDC?!? Indeed it does. The CDC website tells me that it funds the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) as part of its HIV prevention programs. Specifically, the NASBE is supposed to use the CDC funding for
Providing HIV-related information and guidance to state boards of
education and other education stakeholders on policies that promote
effective HIV prevention for kindergarten through 12th grade students in
schools across the nation.
Here's how the NASBE describes its model program for HIV prevention, which it seems clear that Tennessee has followed:
The goals of HIV prevention education are to promote
healthful living and discourage the behaviors that put people at risk
of acquiring HIV. The educational program will:
* Be taught at every level, kindergarten through grade twelve;
John McCain likes to portray himself as an opponent of wasteful and inappropriate government programs. Well, where he was he when the Bush administration was funding sex education for kindergartners? If he really objects to this kind of program, he should have been going after Bush long before he started going after Obama.