The Johnson City Board of Education in Johnson City, Tennessee, met with teachers and administrators on Monday to vote on the updated family life curriculum for Science Hill High School. The new curriculum will include Live Action’s prenatal development video, “Meet Baby Olivia.” According to News Channel 11, the curriculum was unanimously approved during the meeting.
Superintendent Steve Barnett told News Channel 11 that the updated curriculum follows the requirements of a new law signed last month by Governor Bill Lee. The “Baby Olivia” Act requires that either an animated video or ultrasound video be shown during family life classes, and the “Meet Baby Olivia” video was included in Science Hill High School’s family life curriculum. Barnett said the Board of Education made the updated curriculum available to parents for review.
“I think the biggest concern from families is that we follow the law and made sure that that curriculum was something that students would benefit from,” he said. “It’s important information, family life, very important curriculum, and just taking that time to make sure that we did listen and provide those opportunities for parents and community members, as well, to come in and give feedback.”
Barnett noted that the Board of Education received “a lot of good input from the high school staff administration and also school board members who took it very seriously and took the time to read through.” The curriculum is more than 300 pages, he said.
This marks the first confirmed account of “Meet Baby Olivia” being added to a school curriculum in Tennessee. It is set to be implemented in the next school year.
Though the “Baby Olivia” video has received pushback from pro-abortion media outlets and organizations, it was created with and endorsed by a panel of medical professionals, including experts in embryonic and fetal development — Dr. David Bolender; Dr. Donna Harrison; Dr. Tara Sander Lee; Dr. Katrina Furth; Michelle Cretella, MD; and Jeffrey Barrows, DO, MA.
Information from the Endowment for Human Development, a self-described “nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health science education and public health” was used in the creation of “Baby Olivia.” U.S. science educators have endorsed EHD’s own award-winning content, a human development DVD featuring milestones similar to “Olivia,” which is distributed by National Geographic. EHD is “committed to neutrality regarding all controversial bioethical issues’ and states that its “board of directors, board of advisors, staff, and volunteers includes accomplished educators, researchers, authors, programmers, and clinicians from a variety of scientific and business disciplines who share the common goal of improving lifelong health through prenatal development-based education.”
