High school freshmen asked to solve a rape in biology homework assignment, sparking outrage

Last week, about 90 freshmen at a high school near Houston, Texas, took home a biology homework assignment that asked them to solve an imaginary rape scenario. The take-home test on a recent DNA lesson asked 9th-grade students to determine "which of the suspects raped Suzy," drawing concern from astonished parents who couldn't believe such an inappropriate and violent question had been issued to their children. The horrifying test question went viral on social media after an outraged mother shared a photo of the test with the local news outlet, KPRC 2 Houston.

The controversial test question issued to 9th-grade students at Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas, reads, "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 rape Suzy?" Cookie VonHaven, who has a daughter in 10th grade, expressed her concern about the psychological impact such questions would have on children. "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. That’s why I can’t fathom a teacher putting that on a test," she said.

Speaking to the publication, Dana Duplantier—the parent of a 9th grader—revealed that she wasn't aware of whether her son had received the assignment and question. "Wouldn’t (the teacher) have to get that approved by the school board or teachers or something to put that in there?" she asked. With the test going viral, drawing outrage from flabbergasted netizens, and spawning headlines, the school district issued a statement apologizing for the "inappropriate" question given out by the biology teacher at Klein Collins High School.

"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 school district stated. According to The Washington Post, a spokesman for the district, Justin Elbert, said on Thursday morning that officials worked to address the issue "immediately" after coming across it on social media. However, he declined to comment on the steps taken by the school district to resolve the issue.

Commenting on the tactless incident, Jezebel writer Emily Alford wrote, "What’s so infuriating about this question, apart from its inappropriateness, is that it reflects ideas about rape that high schools and colleges still cling to despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary: that rape is something only 'felons' do while ignoring the fact that a student given the question on an assignment might currently be attending classes with their rapist."