A Texas school district had to take “corrective action” over a homework assignment in biology class where students were asked about rape during a lesson on DNA.
The controversial question was assigned to 90 biology students who attend Klein Collins High School, which is located outside Houston, on Friday, the New York Post reported.
“Suzy was assaulted in an alley and is a victim of rape,” the assignment read. “The police collected a sample of sperm that was left at the crime scene and now have three suspects in custody. Which of the suspects raped Suzy?”
Students then had to select which of the three samples of DNA matched the original sample taken at the crime scene.
District officials told the Post that the assignment was not part of the standard curriculum and does not represent the school’s educational philosophy.
“The district has investigated the source of the materials and appropriate corrective action has been taken,” the statement read.
A spokesperson for the Klein Independent school district declined to elaborate further on the matter, and did not say whether the teacher had been disciplined or how the question had been assigned to students in the first place.
Parents of students at the school said they were upset, confused, and outraged when they found out about the assignment. The assignment also went viral on the Internet.
“It’s upsetting and I know girls this age, just the thought…they know that rape is forced non-consensual sex and that upsets them,” Cookie VonHaven, the parent a daughter in 10th grade, told KPRC. “That’s why I can’t fathom a teacher putting that on a test.”
“Wouldn’t [the teacher] have to get that approved by the school board or teachers or something to put that in there?” said Dana Duplantier, the parent of a ninth-grade student at the school.
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