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The state Department of Education
announced Friday that 81 school districts elected to teach abstinence-only sex
education in the upcoming school year vs. 71 that opted for an abstinence-plus
approach.
Three districts chose to teach
abstinence-only for younger grades and abstinence-plus for older grades.
Mississippi’s largest school district, DeSoto County, opted for
abstinence-only, while the second-largest district, in Jackson, chose
abstinence-plus. The four specialty schools run by the state Board of Education
will teach an abstinence-plus curriculum.
Under a state law enacted in 2011,
school districts had until June 30 to select abstinence-only or
abstinence-plus. Each district must go through a separate process to decide on
a specific curriculum. Students must be separated by gender in the classes, and
children must have their parents’ permission to take part.
Under a previous state law, school
districts were not required to teach sex education. Districts that elected to
provide sex education were required to teach abstinence, unless they received
local school board approval to cover topics such as contraception.
Mississippi has one of the nation’s
highest teen birth rates, with 64 births per 1,000 females ages 10-19 in 2009,
compared to the US average of 39. A 2011 study conducted by the Mississippi
Economic Policy Center and sponsored by the Women’s Fund of Mississippi found
births to teen or preteen mothers cost the state $154.9 million in 2009.
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.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
