Conservative and religious groups and individuals plan to speak out at a Hawaii Board of Education meeting this afternoon to share their concerns about the DOE’s Pono Choices sex-education manual.

The meeting is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Queen Liliuokalani Building on Miller Street.

Yesterday, state Rep. Bob McDermott — a father of eight — released a critical report of Pono Choices. Excerpt:

Pono Choices, intended for young impressionable children, is clearly not age appropriate; it is inconsistent with state statues and policies.  Any talk of anal sex—which the curriculum does frequently—is instinctively repulsive for pre-pubescent children.   Additionally, calling the anus a genital—as Pono Choices does—is just plain medically wrong. 

McDermott will hold a public briefing of the curriculum tomorrow in Capitol Auditorium from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Read Civil Beat’s related reports:

Rep. Bob McDermott’s Gay Sex Problem

Off the Beat: Pono Choices is a Public Document

Chad Blair: Pono Choices Is Pono For Sex Ed

Lawmakers: DOE Refusing to Hand Over ‘Pono Choices’ Sex-Ed Materials

Photo: State Rep. Bob McDermott criticizing Pono Choices sex-ed guidelines, Capitol, Jan. 9, 2014. (PF Bentley/Civil Beat)

—Chad Blair