One to 5% of students in all Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) grade levels are not participating in sexual education courses, newly released data shows.

RFSD Superintendent Dr. Anna Cole told district officials last Wednesday that this average opt-out rate, gathered from a district-wide survey conducted in response to calls for strengthened information transparency and accessibility to its sexual education curriculum, “remains low.”

“Some schools have slightly higher opt-out rates,” Cole said during her update to the school board. The average opt-out rate for Crystal River and Sopris elementary schools is 6-12%, she added.

Some community members throughout the past school year have scrutinized RFSD’s sexual education curriculum, arguing the material is too graphic or that there simply is not enough accessible information regarding its syllabus or student opt-out options.

The evidence-based course of study itself is called the “3Rs” — Rights, Respect, Responsibility: The K-12 Sexuality Education Curriculum — which RFSD adopted in the 2022/23  year school with the goal of adhering to graduation and elective requirements as well as state inclusivity standards. The program, which promotes inclusivity of gender expansive and LGBTQ+ students and needs, aligns with national standards and is widely used by Colorado schools, including Denver, Aurora and Steamboat Springs.

“The concern here isn’t about avoiding difficult or challenging subject matter,” Community member Susan Tribble said during last Wednesday’s public comment. “It’s about whether the material is appropriate for the students’ age and how those topics are handled.”

One driver of this opposition to the 3Rs curriculum is RFV Truth, a conservative advocacy group that claims on its website that there is “80% public opposition” to RFSD’s current sexual education program.

“Nobody knows where that number came from. It’s not based on any fact that we’re aware of,” RFSD Board Member Tammy Nimmo said Wednesday. “If anybody figures that out, I would be very open and interested in hearing where that came from.”

The district did not adopt the curriculum at “writ large,” meaning RFSD families have the option to opt their kids out of sexual education lessons. According to Cole, K-5 students currently receive one-to-two sexual education lessons per year, with more lessons ramped up at the middle and high school levels. Parents are also allowed to sit in on the lessons, Cole said.

Still, RFSD officials and their constituents spent about 30 minutes last week addressing sexual education implementation and how the district can strengthen accessibility to things like opt-out options, information and education for district parents. The session, prompted by community feedback, also calls for providing clarity and consistently over the language concerning the “Comprehensive Human Sexuality Curriculum” vs. “Health Curriculum.”

In addition to improving information accessibility on the district website, Cole said more RFSD schools are currently going “above and beyond” and “doing more education nights” in regards to the 3Rs.

According to Cole, the district’s next steps in regards to sexual education include:

  • Updating the district website to strengthening accessibility
  • Incorporating community feedback “re: language and accessibility into school implementation guide,” Cole’s presentation states
  • Continuing to support leaders and health educators with communications
  • Leveraging the “ParentSquare” app, an application RFSD uses to connect schools and families,  to strengthen communications in the 2026/27 school year
  • Discussing any key revisions to the district’s sexual education implementation guide, aligning on communications best practices with school leaders in September 2026.

RFSD Board Member Jasmin Ramirez asked Cole if sexual education opt-out options could be better presented to district family members.

“There are areas where we can do more and do better,” Cole said. “I think this year’s concerns and questions from our community indicated that we needed to tighten that process.”

But, RFSD can revisit the regulation next school year to address further updates.

“I appreciate the thoughtfulness in your FAQs – I think it’s helpful. I think this is something that we need to review and come back to,” Board Member Jasmin Ramirez said. “This is going to be something that I think, as the board continues to shift and change, we’ll have different perspectives and conversations and I think as a community we should welcome that, and as a district should welcome that.”

Learn more about Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education at cdphe.colorado.gov/CHSE