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Well ahead of a state-mandated deadline, school district leaders in Brookhaven and Lincoln counties have selected their sex education policies.
HB 999, passed by the state Legislature in March, requires public schools to implement either an abstinence-only or abstinence-plus program by the 2012-13 school year. Brookhaven and Lincoln both chose abstinence-only.
“Abstinence-only was the best fit for our district,” said Brookhaven Superintendent Dr. Lisa Karmacharya.
The law states that boys and girls must be instructed separately, and the lessons cannot exclude abstinence. Each district’s choice of programming must be “age, grade and developmentally appropriate” and must be approved by the Mississippi Department of Education. Students need their parents’ written permission to participate.
As dictated by the law, the Mississippi Department of Human Services and the state Department of Health are developing sex education programming. The Brookhaven District plans to begin the classes in 2012-13 and will wait to see the state’s materials before choosing a lesson plan, Karmacharya said.
Lincoln County schools are developing their program with the aim of integrating it into health classes this year, said Richelle Ratcliff, director of curriculum and testing.
Mississippi’s 2009 teenage birth rate, 64.4 births per 1,000 girls ages 15-19, was the highest in the United States. The national average for the age group is 39.1.
“Kids in Mississippi have more sex at younger ages than kids in any other state in the country,” said Rachael Canter, executive director of Mississippi First. “By the 12th grade, 76 percent of students have become sexually active.” In conjunction with the state health department, Mississippi First offers funds to districts that choose an abstinence-plus program selected by the advocacy organization.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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