Natalie Fortunato

Harrison Township, NJ

On December 20th, Natalie Fortunato received a phone call from another mother whose freshman son attended Clearview Regional High School. She learned that a group from the son’s English class had been taken to a library and given instructions on how to use a condom, including a demonstration of putting condoms on bananas presented by juniors and seniors. The instruction was part of an elective called New Jersey Teen PEP (Prevention Education Program), a comprehensive sex ed program in which upperclassmen, called Peer Educators, are trained for one class period a day throughout the school year on sexual issues. They in turn conduct 5-6 workshops for freshman students as well as various presentations to the student body.

What was disturbing to Natalie and other parents was the school already had a health class that met the New Jersey core curriculum standards for sexual education. There was no documented evidence that Teen PEP reduced teen sexual activity, or teen pregnancy. In addition Teen PEP had been added without parents being involved in the process and included medically misleading and inaccurate information.

Natalie was able to review the 900+ page Teen PEP curricula and discovered:

• Though the school said the program “stresses abstinence” according to state law, it focused primarily on the “failure rate” of abstinence, suggesting students would eventually become sexually active and therefore emphasized the need to become more sexually sophisticated.
• 14 year-olds were being taught that a positive, healthy sex life was possible by using proper protection, by asking their partner for permission for sexual favors and by visiting the local clinic for guidance.
• There was also a very strong emphasis on normalizing alternative sexual lifestyles and practices.

When the Board of Education refused to withdraw this controversial program, Natalie and other parents decided to form a parents' group of their own and provide actual curriculum pages for other parents to review, and to mobilize parents to action.


In response to the opposition to the program from many parents and community members, as well as bad press in the local newspapers and television, the school district strategically formed an ad hoc committee in February to review Teen PEP and make a recommendation on its continued use in the school. The superintendent chose five parents that oppose the program, and five parents and eight faculty and administrators to serve on the committee who are in favor of continuing the program.  In the meantime, the parents group supported a school board candidate who supported their position and won a seat on the school board in April.  The group has continued to strategize their efforts to expose the tremendous health risks that this program presents to the children of their community.

Natalie Fortunato, says she has never done anything as an “activist” before, but has quickly learned the importance of just getting started and not quitting.

Learn how you can make a difference. Join Parents for Truth today and become a part of protecting the health and future of your child!