The education union has accused a Canberra Liberal of having an "unhealthy obsession" with the Safe Schools program after she claimed teenagers were suffering sleepless nights due to its material.
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Ginninderra MLA Elizabeth Kikkert said the anti-bullying program aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex students could be described as "grooming" after opposition education spokesman Andrew Wall tabled a petition calling on the ACT government to cease its support.
" ... we let teachers ask a 13-year-old girl to fantasise about sexual intercourse," she said, a claim that was not verified by the Education Directorate.
"I have personally met with youth in Canberra who have gone home from their classes in tears so upset they couldn't sleep for several nights all because of the resources from the Safe Schools program."
Australian Education Union ACT secretary Glenn Fowler said Mrs Kikkert needed to be "brought into line".
"Nobody should make comment on the Safe Schools program unless they have examined the education materials freely available on the Safe Schools website," he said.
"Any fair-minded person examining those materials would see that they are reasonable, appropriate, and entirely befitting of a contemporary education.
"The AEU proudly represents 3500 public educators and we will not stand idly by whilst allegations of criminality are made in the territory's parliament without sufficient evidence."
The ACT government has funded territory-specific anti-bullying resources for LGBTI students, which will launch later this year.
Mr Wall's petition against the program, which garnered almost 1000 signatures, will now be referred to the standing committee on Education, Employment and Youth Affairs, on which he is a member and Mrs Kikkert is deputy chair.
He told ABC Radio he was "not going to discredit my colleague and say [her] comments aren't true".
"What I ultimately am looking forward to is a committee inquiry into this petition which will put all the evidence on the table in a public forum and we can actually get to the bottom of what's actually being presented in classrooms," he said.
Education Minister Yvette Berry stood by Safe Schools on Thursday: "I will stand by every LGBTIQ kid and the ACT government will not be changing its mind about Safe Schools."
Mr Fowler warned the Canberra Liberals they were in danger of "becoming irrelevant".
"The Canberra Liberals recently had a significant swing against them in what many saw as the unlosable election and yet they seem intent on remaining unelectable," he said.
"In a progressive city like Canberra, their extreme positioning on social issues puts them in danger of becoming irrelevant."
A rally organised by NSW MP Fred Nile and Australian Christian Lobby leader Lyle Shelton to protest Safe Schools in Civic Square was drowned out by supporters of the program earlier this month.
- with Katie Burgess.
