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The importance of sex ed from a Portland child psychologist

The Maine Republican Party discussed its platforms at the state convention over the weekend. Banning sex ed in Maine schools is part of the platform.

MAINE, USA — Maine Republicans are proposing banning sex ed in the state's public schools. This came after a discussion at last weekend's State Republican Convention where the party finalized its new planks.

"I will help enact a Parents Bill of Rights because schools are places to teach kids how to think for themselves, not what to think. Leave your political ideology, no matter what it is, out of our classrooms," Former Gov. Paul LePage said at the convention.

Maine GOP Executive Director Jason Savage said in a statement on Monday, "This weekend, Maine Republicans held an open, transparent debate about serious topics that have parents of all political stripes terrified. We know that Mainers are interested in better education for their kids, and Republicans are working to help parents achieve that goal."

Maine Democrats are pushing back.

"Going after our children is just a sad, low blow. It's really frustrating to see them sticking to what we've seen as a national line throughout the country," said Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Cumberland.

Child mental health advocates said banning sex ed altogether might not be the way to do it. 

"I don't look at the effort to put the lid on education with respect to sexuality in schools as anything sinister or not well-meaning. I just think it's not very tuned in to the reality," Dr. John Stewart said.

Stewart is a child psychologist based in Portland.

He added children are curious about sexuality from a very young age, and not enough kids get sex ed from their parents — so they find it elsewhere.

"Many of our kids end up learning what they know about sexuality from their friends, from movies, from pornography," he said.

He added that kids shouldn't be bombarded with it at school, but it can still be beneficial to talk about. And shutting it out entirely isn't a good idea.

"Our moving into some kind of institutional set of injunctions of what you can and can't talk about in something as pervasive and powerful as sexuality is asking for trouble from my perspective," Stewart said.

A spokesperson from the Maine Department of Education said that curriculum decisions, including sex ed, are currently made locally, not by the state.

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