San Francisco Chronicle - The Voice of the West, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94119
Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer

Killing the phrase had been part of a controversial bill now making its way through the state Legislature. The legislation would require parental consent for public school students to learn about sexually transmitted diseases. Currently, parents may withhold their children from those lessons but don't have to grant permission.

Lawmakers backing the measure heard loudly yesterday from voters with little compassion for legislating a lack of compassion.

By 6 a m., callers had already awakened the bill's co-author, independent state Senator Quentin Kopp of San Francisco, after a story appeared in The Chronicle. Kopp said he had not known the bill would end the "compassion" requirement until The Chronicle told him about it on Monday.

Kopp then conveyed the complaints to Republican Assemblyman Steve Baldwin of El Cajon, who introduced the bill, and to state Attorney General Dan Lungren, who sponsored it. "I've advised the attorney general's office that the deletion is counterproductive," Kopp said.

Steve Tagliano, a Lungren spokesman, said he did not know how the language ever disappeared. "When we initially drafted that legislation," he said. "the language was in. Somewhere between when we drafted it and now, it was lined out."

State law says that "AIDS education must be taught with compassion about people with HIV."

The part of the bill that would end that requirement was apparently added in Baldwin's office, where aide Dana Cody explained that the Assemblyman did not like the rule because "it was being used to justify teaching about homosexual practices in graphic detail."

Yesterday, Baldwin put the sentence back in-with a qualifier. A second sentence was added to the bill saying, "This language shall not be construed as a reason to advocate drug use, particular sexual acts or lifestyles."

Another Baldwin aide, Dale Webster, said, "This is all in response to calls. We were getting a lot of calls regarding this."

The change, however, did not soothe opponents of the entire bill.

"They're just trying to throw us a bone and hoping that we'll accept it, when the real issue here is AIDS education," said Todd Swindell of ACT UP San Francisco, which began a campaign against the bill last night at the city's Board of Education meeting.

School board member Dan Kelly, a pediatrician, said he was pleased by the decision, but said the bill is still a bad idea.

"We don't need to establish a precedent where to take a class you need to have prior approval," he said. "Are you going to do that for political science? Geography? History? Many courses address areas that are controversial, and it's important to allow free discussion and full access to information. This bill goes against that."

The bill is expected to be considered by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 22 in Sacramento.
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