Students at a secondary school in Houston, Texas were shocked to discover a question about rape in their biology homework.
Local news site Click 2 Houston reported that a ninth-grade (year nine) teacher set what District officials called an "inappropriate homework question" for students aged 14-15 years.The Klein Independent School District confirmed the incident, which took place at Klein Collins High School in a suburb of Houston.
The question, set as part of a biology homework assignment on DNA, read:
"Suzy was assaulted in an alley and is a victim of rape. 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?"
To answer question, biology students had to choose which of the three sperm samples matched the original DNA found at the crime scene.
The school estimated that around 90 students received the assignment.
Students and parents alike were left perplexed and outraged by the question.
"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 mother of a tenth-grader at the school, told Click 2 Houston.
"That's why I can't fathom a teacher putting that on a test."
Dana Duplantier, who has a ninth-grade student at the school, was unaware whether her child received the assignment, but questioned the teacher's judgement.
"Wouldn't [the teacher] have to get that approved by the school board or teachers or something to put that in there?" she said.
In a statement given to the New York Post, the school said:
"The assignment is not part of the District's approved curriculum and is by no means representative of the District's instructional philosophy.
"The District has investigated the source of the materials and appropriate corrective action has been taken."
The Klein Independent School District declined to provide details of whether the teacher who devised the question would be disciplined, or how it came to be assigned in the first place.
Featured Image Credit: Click 2 Houston