ROCKVILLE, Md.—The Maryland State Board of Education has ruled in favor of a sex-education program in Montgomery County that includes information on homosexuality, gender identity and the correct use of a condom.

In a 17-page opinion, the state panel declined to "second guess the appropriateness" of the curriculum approved by the Montgomery County Board of Education. Instead, the panel said it could reverse the county's action only if it violated the law.

The state panel, which ruled in a closed session in June, said local school boards are not required to show all viewpoints in writing curriculum.

Critics who challenged the program said the lessons restrict free-speech rights and religious expression by suppressing the view that homosexuality is a sin.

The pair of lessons are to be added this fall to health courses in eighth and 10th grades, along with a 10th-grade lesson and a DVD on the correct use of a condom.

The effort to introduce sexual orientation as a topic for discussion in health classes began in 2002, and opponents have battled the Montgomery County school system ever since.