Minneapolis sex education teacher takes students to adult store

Photo from Smitten Kitten Facebook

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A sex education teacher's decision to take her students on a field trip to an adult novelty store in Minneapolis has drawn the ire of parents.

About a dozen middle- and high-school-aged students from Gaia Democratic School visited the Smitten Kitten last week. School director Starri Hedges also teaches the sex education class. Hedges tells the Star Tribune (http://strib.mn/1I8oMn7 ) she wanted to provide a safe and welcoming environment for students to learn about human sexual behavior. Hedges says the field trip offered access to products that could be used to practice safer sex. She says some students bought condoms.

Parent Lynn Floyd says the trip was "a major breach of trust." Floyd's 11- and 13-year-old daughters were on the field trip. Floyd and the children's mother have withdrawn the girls from the school.