Some state lawmakers want to hear more sex talk in schools.
A pair of proposed laws would require that all sex education in schools follow state guidelines, which are now voluntary.
That means no “abstinence only” lessons but talking, too, about condoms and other forms of birth control and sexually transmitted disease prevention.
“There is a real reluctance to admit when kids start to become sexually active,” said Judith Billings, an adviser to Gov. Chris Gregoire on HIV and AIDS.
More than a quarter of the state’s school districts provide “abstinence only” sex education instead of the more comprehensive approach health professionals recommend, according to a Healthy Youth Alliance survey released this week.
The survey included responses from 125 of the state’s 296 school districts, or 42 percent.
Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park, is sponsoring the House bill to make the state guidelines mandatory.
Many programs are giving students inaccurate or misleading information, she said.
“We are not going to tolerate bad information that leads to bad choices,” she said. “Either teach it right or don’t teach it at all.”
Similar bills have died in the past. But advocates are hopeful.
Lillian Kaufer is promoting the legislation as a member of the National Abortion and Reproduction Rights Action League’s Pro-Choice of Washington.
The Snohomish mother took action after hearing her daughter relate her sexual health lessons in eighth grade two years ago, when a guest speaker provided what she considered inaccurate information about condoms and birth control.
Now that her daughter is a sophomore, lessons seem to be largely limited to anatomy, Kaufer said.
“We’re certainly not advocating teaching seventh- and eighth-graders how to use a condom,” Kaufer said. “But by 10th grade, a lot of teenagers are having sex. … The kids need to have as much proper information as possible.”
Like other local school districts, the Snohomish School District said its curriculum already meets the state’s voluntary guidelines.
That includes a state curriculum that stresses abstinence but also covers contraceptives.
“It paints the real picture. If you are sexually active, these are the things that could happen,” said Paula Koehler, director of teaching and learning services. “The curriculum talks a lot about prevention.”
Teachers skip an optional lesson that shows students how to properly put on a condom.
“We don’t do the banana,” she said, referring to a technique used to demonstrate condom use.
At the request of state lawmakers, state guidelines were set in 2005 by the Department of Health and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
They include providing information on birth control and sexually transmitted disease prevention, but stress abstinence as the most effective choice.
Right now, schools are not required to offer sexual health education in the first place, although the majority do, said Pam Tollefsen, school health programs coordinator with the state superintendent’s office.
Parents also are allowed to excuse their children from lessons by signing a form with their districts.
Tollefsen said she advises schools to refer to the guidelines when starting a program.
That’s because they work.
“We do have research that shows students who receive what we call comprehensive sexuality education … are no more likely to have early engagement of sexual activity than those who have abstinence-only education,” she said.
Abstinence education has gotten a boost at the federal level in recent years with dollars following the lessons.
Still, national and local health statistics show teens remain at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases.
Nationally, fewer teenagers are having sex and those who do are more likely to use contraceptives than their peers 14 years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a 2005 survey, 47 percent of high school students reported having had sex, down from 54 percent in 1991. Among sexually active youth, 63 percent had used a condom, up from 46 percent in 1991.
But 15- to 24-year-olds acquire nearly one-half of all new STDs, according to the CDC.
In Snohomish County, cases of chlamydia among those ages 10-19 have gone down in the last two years – from 534 cases in 2004 to 473 cases in 2006.
But gonorrhea cases spiked among youth – going up 42 percent from 2005 to 2006, from 38 to 54 cases.
In the past, schools would not touch sex ed.
“In today’s society, that’s completely unrealistic,” said Michael Kundu, a Marysville School Board member.
Marysville is among districts reviewing its sexual health curriculum.
“In the lack of parents being willing or courageous enough to talk to kids about this, we need to do something,” he said.
Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, is a co-sponsor of the Senate bill and plans to bring it to a hearing as chairwoman of the Early Learning and K-12 Education committee.
McAuliffe said she wants to discuss incentives for schools that would use state-approved curriculum.
“We need to have a conversation statewide about what they want their children to learn,” McAuliffe said.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.
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