Manditory Aids Education for 5 year olds (or just one more reason to homeschool)

If you're in New York City and haven't yanked your kid out of the government schools, now might be the time; that is unless you want your 5-year-old to be forced to learn about AIDS. Parents will have the option to remove their children from the lesson, but will be required to instruct them at home about the subject.

The children will not be taught AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease until sex education classes, which usually begin in the fourth grade.

Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights insists, however, that fact makes little difference.

What matters, he says, is "that this represents a coordinated effort on the part of city officials to sexually engineer our children."

"If they were truly interested in protecting kids from diseases, they would start by teaching them about such things as food poisoning," he said.

Donahue says its time for Catholic parents who send their children to public schools to "put their foot down: pull their kids from these classes, refuse to teach them about AIDS and then inform their principal of their refusal to cooperate."

"Let's see if the education establishment has the nerve to settle this matter in court," he said.

New York's education department insists the lessons are age-appropriate, but many parents who have looked at some of the material disagree, reports WCBS-TV in New York City.

Queens fifth grader Charles Comaianni had never heard of AIDS but got a lesson yesterday "about the immune system and what happens when your immune system is down"

By the end of this week, WCBS said, the 10-year-old will learn the disease is spread by unprotected sex or by sharing needles.

He also will learn about homosexuality and HIV prevention methods – including a condom demonstration – things his father Nick Comaianni says he doesn't want his son to know about yet.