A high school student has filed a federal lawsuit against a school in Georgia over its curriculum for providing an “educational” sex ed session on how to avoid pregnancy.
The plaintiff, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, told WSB-TV that she was “stunned” and “heartbroken” by the video she watched and believes it violated her privacy.
The school’s curriculum includes a lesson on how not to get pregnant and “how to avoid getting pregnant,” according to the lawsuit.
“I was shocked,” Jane Doe told WVTM.
“I was just really sad that they could do this and do it so openly.”
The suit seeks unspecified damages for violation of the students’ constitutional rights.
“It’s a pretty blatant violation of [Jane Doe’s] First Amendment right to privacy,” said Jennifer Zilber, a partner at New York-based law firm Zilberman & Co. who is representing Jane Doe.
“It was a blatant violation.”
The video, “How to Avoid Pregnancy,” was uploaded on April 11, the day before the midterm elections, and features a teacher talking about how not getting pregnant is important to having a healthy pregnancy.
The lesson is also titled “Don’t get pregnant” and features photos of two people who have gotten pregnant and a woman who said she got pregnant.
In the video, the teacher urges students to think about the consequences of getting pregnant before and after the session, including that “the only thing you have to do is wait a little longer.”
The school district has denied any wrongdoing, saying the lesson was created by the district’s education director and did not originate from a teacher.
Jane Doe says she has been unable to find out what happened to the video because it was deleted after it was posted on Facebook.
The suit also alleges that the district has failed to provide the district with any evidence of what happened.
A Georgia Department of Education spokesperson told The Associated Press in an email that the school has “full confidence” in the district.
