The content of Ontario's new sex education curriculum places the province near the middle of the national birds-and-bees bell curve, but the explicit language and attention to detail sets it apart.
Suggesting that teachers explain the various ways that sexually transmitted infections can spread is nothing new for Canadian classrooms, but providing a sample answer that includes a list of everything from oral to anal intercourse may be a first.
"Some ministry mandates will be short and relatively vague whereas others will be specific," said Alex McKay, research co-ordinator for the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada. "I think in general terms that the new Ontario health curriculum does not put Ontario out of step with other provinces."
Below, a sample of some of the different courses being offered across the country, and what provisions are made for parents who object to their content:
Alberta
Talk about sex begins in Grade 4, when students learn about the physical, emotional and social changes that occur during puberty. Homosexuality or sexual orientation aren't mentioned specifically within the human sexuality component of the kindergarten through Grade 9 curriculum, which can be summarized in just over two pages.
Staff at Alberta Education have been combing through the curriculum for a year, in preparation for a law that will come into effect next September that will require schools to contact parents before they teach topics that touch on human sexuality, sexual orientation or religion. The law also protects parents' right to remove children from the classroom if they object to the content of the lesson.
Prince Edward Island
Topics relating to human sexuality begin in the Grade 6 health curriculum when students are asked to "describe the physical, emotional, and social changes that occur during puberty" and "identify the basic components of the human reproductive systems" and their basic functions.
Before a teacher can address these and other potentially racy topics, they have to inform parents of the content of their lessons, and then obtain "opt-in" form signed by the student's parent or guardian. The Grade 8 curriculum does address homosexuality, asking that students "demonstrate an understanding of sexual orientation."
British Columbia
Lessons that touch on sexuality begin right away, in kindergarten, where children are taught the correct names for male and female body parts. Such lessons aren't called sexual education and they're considered part of the safety and injury prevention element of the curriculum, aimed at teaching children about appropriate and inappropriate forms of touching.
Lessons that more closely resemble sex education begin in Grade 4 when students learn about the physical changes that come with puberty. The act of sex and homosexuality are first touched on in Grade 6.
The province has an alternative delivery policy that allows parents to have the contents of the lesson taught in a different setting, for example, at home. But the policy does not allow parents to shield their children from the material - students are still expected to learn the content of the lessons.
New Brunswick
The complaints raised in 2005 when New Brunswick reviewed its sex education curriculum were nearly identical to ones raised recently in Ontario. Critics pointed to references to anal sex and masturbation in the Grade 6 curriculum and asked why these topics couldn't be left to the discretion of parents instead.
In response to those complaints, the government reviewed the curriculum and ultimately put more of an emphasis on abstinence. Sex first comes up in Grade 5 when students are expected to describe healthy decision making in regard to sexual activity. Homosexuality comes up in Grade 8; teachers are directed to "discuss sexual orientation issues."
Ontario
Under the new curriculum, Grade 3 students will discuss sexual identity and orientation in the context of visible and invisible differences between people. Lessons on puberty will begin in Grade 4, and the sensitive issue of anal intercourse is introduced in Grade 7 as a possible way of contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky has said that parents can ask to have their children removed from the classroom if they object to the content of the classes.