Tough Calls On Sex Education In Texas Schools

In a brief article titled "Sex Education In Public Schools -- Tough Call?" a Dallas Morning News blog post referenced an article in this blog about sex education curricula in school districts around Collin County. The DMN blog post asked if teaching abstinence-plus, which includes information about contraceptives, is a good idea.

Good idea or not, the "tough call" is likely to get a lot tougher for Collin County school board trustees, school administrators and School Health Advisory Councils if the U.S. Congress accepts President Obama's 2010 budget proposal. Pres. Obama's 2010 budget will cut federal abstinence-only funding that has been flowing into Texas for a decade. Texas as a whole might have to loosen its stubborn insistence on abstinence-only sex education, if President Obama's 2010 budget proposal is adopted.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Texas received almost $18 million in federal "abstinence-only" funding in 2007, matched by $3 million in state funds in that year. While Republican Gov. Rick Perry rejected federal "economic stimulus" money in 2009, meant to aid unemployed Texans, Gov. Perry has said he supports Texas' abstinence-only sex ed programs, which are largely funded by federal money. "The governor is comfortable with current law and supports abstinence programs," said Gov. Perry's spokeswoman, Allison Castle. [Houston Chronicle]

Texas, in accepting more federal abstinence-only education funding than any other state, has largely adopted the federally mandated "strings" attached to the money.

For example, the federal Title V abstinence-only education program mandates that grant recipients adopt “abstinence education” which:

1. Has as its exclusive purpose teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity;
2. Teaches abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school-age children;
3. Teaches that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems;
4. Teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected standard of sexual activity;
5. Teaches that sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects;
6. Teaches that bearing children out of wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child’s parents, and society;
7. Teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increase vulnerability to sexual advances, and
8. Teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.

Title V funded programs are not permitted to advocate or discuss contraceptive methods except to emphasize their failure rates. The Title V teaching requirements listed above are coded in the federal law (Title V, Section 510 (b)(2)(A-H) of the Social Security Act (P.L. 104-193) authorizing the " abstinence-focused" funding. (HHS Reference here)

The Texas education code does not require public schools to offer sex education. But if they do, the teaching plan must be abstinence-focused, and instruction about contraceptives must be couched in terms of how often they fail, according to language added to the Texas education code in 1995 with legislation authored by State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston and co-author Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa. The "abstinence-focused" language was added to then Governor Bush's education bill that created School Health Advisory Committees (SHACs) in each school district. While the "abstinence-focused" language does not outlaw abstinence-plus teaching plans, which includes information about safe sex and STD prevention, the law is widely interpreted by social conservatives as an exclusive mandate for abstinence-only teaching plans.

When George W. Bush became president in 2001, he was a vocal proponent of abstinence-only sex education programs and started increasing federal spending on abstinence-only education in U.S. schools, with the hope that it would reach $320 million a year. Federal abstinence-only education funding reached a maximum level of approximately $214 million per year during President Bush's second term in 2008. (abstinence-only funding> graph)

Several recent studies, including a large 2008 federal study, reveal that after more than a decade of increasing federal and state government spending and emphasis on abstinence-only education, the program has failed to achieve its purpose.

Studies show that teenagers who receive abstinence-only sex education are just as likely to have premarital sex as teens who receive abstinence-plus or other variations of comprehensive sex education. Further, teens and young adults that received abstinence-only education are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do engage in sexual activity.

Other recent studies from multiple sources show that after falling steadily for more than a decade, the birth rate for American teenagers again started to increase after 2005. The teen birth rate rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 among 15-to-19-year-old girls, after plummeting 34 percent between 1992 and 2005, according to National Center for Health Statistics. Recent government statistics also shows that one in four U.S. teenage girls has contracted a sexually transmitted disease and 30 percent of U.S. girls become pregnant before the age of 20.

Even though Texas has received more federal dollars for abstinence-only sex education than any other state in the union, the state has the third highest teen birth rate in the nation -- 50% higher than the national average. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) a Texas teen gets pregnant every 10 minutes. Texas Medicaid paid for 17,322 deliveries to teen mothers aged 13-17 in 2007 and according to National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy data, teen childbearing (teens 19 and younger) costs Texas taxpayers (federal, state, and local) at least $1 billion annually. That $1 billion annual payment is on top of the $21 million dollars in federal and state tax payer money spent annually on government sponsored abstinence-only sex education that is increasing rather decreasing Texas teen pregnancy rates.

Evidence compiled over almost twenty years shows that abstinence-plus programs (programs that stress abstinence before marriage, but also that provides comprehensive sex education) reduces teen pregnancies and STD infections:

After the teen birth rate rose sharply between 1986 and 1991, hitting an all-time high of 61.8 births per 1,000 girls, the Clinton Administration promoted an abstinence-plus type sex education campaign. That program successfully reversed the rising teen birth trend and and teen pregnancies plummeted between through the 1990s until 2005.

The $1.5 billion in taxpayer dollars the federal government has redirected to "abstinence-only" teaching programs since President Bush was elected in 2000 has delivered increasing rates of teen pregnancies and STD infections.

To again stem the tide of increasing rates of teen pregnancies and STD infections, President Obama's 2010 budget asks congress to terminate President Bush's Community-Based Abstinence-Only Education (CBAE), Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA), mandatory Title V Abstinence-Only Education, Compassion Capital Fund and Rural Communities programs. In place of these conservative Abstinence-Only Education Initiatives President Obama's budget is asking congress to authorize at least $164 million in funding for abstinence-plus type comprehensive sexuality health education initiatives.

So, beginning next year, if the U.S. Congress accepts President Obama's 2010 budget proposals, Texas will lose all of its federal abstinence-only sex education funding. Further, future federal funding for sex education flowing to the state will have certain strings attached that will mandate that the federal money must be used for abstinence-plus comprehensive sexuality health education initiatives.

Texas, from Gov. Perry through the state's education agencies down to the local school board trustees, School Health Advisory Councils and school administrators, will have to make some "tough calls" about what to teach Texas teens. What "tough calls" will the Governor, state legislators, state education agency officials, local school board trustees and school administrators make given 94 percent of Texas' school districts are locked into abstinence-only programs?

Will Governor Perry, who counts social conservatives as a large part of his base, make the "tough call" to refuse Obama's federal comprehensive sexuality health education funding, just as he refused Obama's federal funding to aid unemployed Texans?

Social conservatives in Texas and Collin County, who absolutely reject the idea of teaching safe sex in schools, likely will not accept President Obama's 2010 federal " comprehensive" sex education funding program, even if it does still stress abstinence as a first choice.

On the other hand, a August Texas Poll shows that 90 percent of Texans favor teaching students age-appropriate, medically accurate information on abstinence, birth control and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

If Gov. Perry supports the social conservative position on this issue to win the conservative vote for the 2010 Republican primary, he risks loosing the November 2010 general election.

If Governor Perry rejects Pres. Obama's " comprehensive" sex education federal funding, what "tough call" will he make to find state tax money to continue abstinence-only education programs.

What "tough calls" would a Governor K. B. Hutchison or Governor Tom Schieffer make to accept and use or reject federal comprehensive sex ed funding. Will Texas' conservative Republican legislators make the "tough call" to override Governor's rejection of federal funding for comprehensive sex education?

Will Texas legislators rework Texas education law to promote federally mandated comprehensive sex education teaching programs, even if social conservative Republican voters oppose it? Will local school board trustees and school administrators make the "tough call" to remake their abstinence-only sex education teaching plans into comprehensive abstinence-plus teaching plans to qualify for federal education funds? If not, how will they pay for abstinence-only education programs absent federal funding support?

And, last, but not least, Republicans from the fiscal conservative wing of the party should be asking Republicans from the social conservative wing of the party why they insist on spending the tax payers' money on abstinence-only government programs when, by every measure, they fail to work.

Parent, voters and the ladies and gentleman of the press really need to start asking these questions.

Sex Ed In Collin County Schools - Part 2

Texas Textbooks Not Mandated To Teach

This is Part 2 of a 5 part series on the state of sexuality health education in Collin County based on the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund study, “Just Say Don’t kNOw” by Dr. David Wiley, Dr. Kelly Wilson and Ryan Valentine. A copy of the study can be found online at www.tfn.org. The series is researched and written by Linda Magid.

In Part 1 of our series, we gave an overview of the state of sex education in Texas: statewide students are either misinformed or learn nothing at all about how to protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy beyond abstinence. In Part 2, we will look at how the Texas Education Code deals with sexuality health and what is and isn’t covered in the state textbooks and supplemental programs.

Students Learn Little to Nothing about Human Sexuality

Texas Education Code mandates that sexuality instruction must be part of public school curriculum and that abstinence be taught as the preferred choice of sexual behavior (“Just Say Don’t kNOw,” Wiley, Wilson and Valentine, pg. 5).

The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) states that students “should be able to ‘analyze the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of barrier protection and other contraceptive methods including the prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), keeping in mind the effectiveness of remaining abstinent until marriage.’” (Wiley, et al., pg. 7).

Given students might be tested on this information, you might be surprised to learn that 4 of 5 Texas textbooks do not mention the word ‘condom’ ever. (Wiley, et al., pg. 8) The one textbook that mention condoms does so only one time. The four North Texas ISDs covered in this article use the textbooks silent about barrier protection from pregnancy and STDs.

SIDE BAR: HIGH SCHOOL HEALTH TEXTBOOKS APPROVED FOR USE IN TEXAS CLASSROOMS (Wiley, et al., pg. 8)

• Glencoe/McGraw-Hill: Health
• Glencoe/McGraw-Hill: Health and Wellness (McKinney, Frisco, Allen)
• Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Lifetime Health (Plano, Frisco, Allen)
• Thomson/Delmar Learning: Essentials of Health and Wellness
• *Harcourt: Harcourt Health and Fitness (used only by Frisco, not recognized by the TFN report as an approved textbook statewide).
  

According to the report, publishers self-censored the health education textbooks to avoid political battles in 2004. Rather than place condom information in the textbook, they included more in-depth information in the teacher’s edition and student supplements. However, few districts use these materials.

McKinney ISD is the only district of the four that use any publisher-written supplemental information - Glencoe Teen Health Course 1 and Workbook, Glencoe Teen Health Course 2 and Workbook, Glencoe Teen Health Course 3 and Workbook. According to the Glencoe website, these books are a “combination of course material and interactive multimedia resources” for middle school students, offering “instruction in the 10 health skills.”

Based on an interactive website presentation, it could not be determined if the materials mention sexual health at all.

Texas textbook publishers realize that they need to give students some kind of protection instruction and choose a non-offensive, and unhelpful, tack.

For example, Lifetime Health published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston (used by Plano, Frisco and Allen ISDs) attempts to address protection by substituting scientific information with behavioral modification.

The textbook offers “8 Steps to Protect Yourself from STDs” with steps like choosing good friends, developing appropriate decision-making skills and “getting plenty of rest.” None of the steps include using barrier protection. (Wiley, et al., pg. 9)

Are the textbooks used in our county’s school districts to teach abstinence-only information adequately preparing our students for impending adulthood? Do abstinence-only supplemental programs give our teens any support?

According to The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), abstinence-only programs “rarely provide information on even the most basic topics in human sexuality such as puberty, reproductive anatomy and sexual health.” (Wiley, et al., pg. 7)

Plano, McKinney, Allen and Frisco ISDs supplement their sexuality education with abstinence-only programs, and few of those programs cover essential health issues adequately or in depth.

For example, Aim for Success (McKinney, Allen and Frisco) offers no information on basic anatomy and physiology, puberty, menstrual cycles or any other basic sexuality education information. Worth the Wait (Frisco) includes some basic components of sexuality education but discusses only the negatives of birth control and only mentions STD testing.

According to a 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, over 50% of male and female high school students “reported having engaged in sexual intercourse at least once.” (Wiley, et al., pg. 8) With half the teens in Texas choosing to have sex, withholding vital health information from them based on political fear is reprehensible at best and dangerous at worst.

Specifically in our four largest ISDs, more research needs to be done to determine if they are avoiding both basic reproductive health information as well as medically accurate STD and pregnancy protection instruction.

Next in the series: Part 3 - “Condoms Don’t Work” and Other Misinformation.

The Texas Democratic Women of Collin Co. Will Host Guest Speaker Kathy Miller, Pres. Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, At The Group's Meeting On Monday, July 27, 2009. Ms. Miller will talk about the Education Fund's year-long study on sexuality health education in Texas public schools. See the "Calendar Box" in the left sidebar of this blog for more details.

Questions Submitted To DPCC Chair Candidates By DCDC

On July 22, 2009 the Democratic Party of Collin County (DPCC) Executive Committee,that includes all county precinct chairs, will elect a new chairperson in a special election.

To aid the DPCC Precinct Chairs in selecting the best qualified candidate for the county chair position, the Democratic Campaign Development Coalition (DCDC) has invited the candidates to answer questions at the group's July 14th general meeting, said DCDC spokesperson Linda Magid.

DPCC chair candidates Shawn Stevens, Victor Manuel and Marlene Byndon have agreed to participate in this candidate's forum.

All DPCC Precinct Chairs have been invited to attend this meeting. Rank and file Democrats in the county are welcome to attend this meeting, as available seating allows, however, DPCC Precinct Chairs will be given first preference for the available seats.

Because this special election cycle is so short and because time during the DCDC candidate's forum on July 14th is limited, DCDC has submitted fourteen key questions to the candidates. These fourteen questions ask the candidates to reflect on several different aspects of the local party's organization and potential to help elect Democrats for Collin County, statewide and national offices.

The candidates will be asked only a few of the fourteen questions during the candidate's forum discussion on July 14, according to the DCDC spokesperson. The questions will be selected and asked by forum moderator, David Smith. Mr. Smith, is a precinct chair in the county and a long time activist with the DPCC. During each question round the forum moderator will ask each candidate to answer a selected question. The candidates will be allowed by the moderator to specifically answer the question asked, or respond to another candidate's answer given in that round.

The DCDC has asked the candidates to return written answers to the fourteen questions by July 14. According to the DCDC spokesperson, the candidates' full written answers will be made available to the DPCC precinct chairs following the discussion forum.

Questions submitted to the candidates by DCDC are as follows:

Leadership

1. Define your leadership style and explain how it fits into your vision of leading the party.
   


2. Tell us how you would structure the party under your leadership and how you will recruit, train, work with and retain your executive committee of precinct chairs and committee chairs. What principles will guide you in recruiting and selecting volunteers, in particular for officers and committee chair positions?


3. Party members would like the party to be more inclusive and open. What, if any, changes would you make to recent county party leadership practices?


4. There are several active Democratic groups, such as the Democratic Campaign Development Coalition, Obama Collin County, Texas Democratic Women of Collin County, Stonewall Democrats, etc. Describe the kind of coalition--building relationships you will form between the Party and these organizations.

Strategic Plan

5. We have highlighted for you the draft strategic plan for the Democratic Party of Collin County and we know that you have participated in drafting it. In your vision for the party, do you agree with the goals set forth? Is there anything you would change? How would you implement it?
   

Winning Elections

6. What are your plans in the next several months for 2010 candidate recruitment and development?
   


7. What are your plans to help state-wide and local Democratic candidates get elected? Will your plans include reinstating the party’s Coordinated Campaign Committee?
   


8. We are aware the demographics of the County are changing as we grow; and we are aware there is an untapped and diverse citizenry who historically vote as Democrats, as seen in the recent election. What are your plans for outreach to these voters?
   

Fundraising

9. We recognize the need to raise funds for running the party, for the Primary, the county convention, helping get Democrats elected, developing IT infrastructure and paying for staff. What is your plan to ensure adequate funding for the party?
   

Party Operations

10. The coming Democratic Primary and County Convention are solely the responsibility of the party. What is your plan for administering them?
    


11. What will you do to ensure coordination and smooth operations between the Party and the County Elections Office regarding all election activities?
    


12. How will you use all of the technologies available today to meet our goals? What will be your approach towards making any improvements?
    

Other

13. We understand there is a Texas Democratic Party County Chair Association. Do you plan to take time to travel to Austin to participate in this association’s events, learn about best practices, and make an effort to implement improvements in our County?
    


14. If you don’t win this election, how do you anticipate working with the new county chair? If you do win the election, how are you going to bring the other two candidates and their supporters into the fold?
    

Sex Ed In Collin County Schools - Part 1

Editor's Note: This is the first of a five part series of articles about sexuality health education curricula found in Collin County school districts, researched and written by Linda Magid.

In February 2009, Texas Freedom Network announced that the Texas school system is failing to protect our students.

Based on a year-long study on sexuality health education in Texas schools titled “Just Say Don’t kNOw”, the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund (the research arm of TFN) has established that, statewide, curricula are based almost exclusively on abstinence-only textbooks and programs. These tools for teaching teens are misinforming (and sometimes blatantly lying to) students on how they can protect themselves from the risks of sexual activity if they choose to be sexually active.

The alternative program, abstinence-plus, which prepares teens for adult life decisions by presenting pre-marital abstinence as the best choice while providing accurate information on planned parenting options, is rarely taught in Texas schools.

In a nutshell, Texas teens leave high school and enter adult life unprepared for pregnancy prevention, defense against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and general sexual health issues beyond abstinence.

While TFN has claimed for years that this kind of insufficient and potentially damaging education is going on, their report is the first to tally information directly from the school districts. 990 out of 1,031 school districts participated in the survey, a total of 96%. Of those 990, 94% use abstinence-only materials, 3.6% us abstinence-plus materials, and 2.3% skip sex education all together.

As a result of their research, Authors Dr. David Wiley and Dr. Kelly Wilson definitively declare, “Abstinence-only programs have a stranglehold on sexuality education in Texas public schools.”

None of the ISDs who use abstinence-plus materials are in Collin County. What do our schools use, then? And what can the report tell us about what our students learn in school regarding sexual health education?

Over the course of several segments, this blog will present what “Just Say Don’t kNOw” uncovers about the sexuality health education in Allen, McKinney, Plano and Frisco ISDs. We will also discover how effective our School Health Advisory Councils (SHACs) are in guiding the local School Boards on this topic. Lastly, we will offer suggestions on how to change the current trend of fear and misinformation in our health classrooms.

First, let’s look at how Texas fares in comparison to the rest of the country. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, “young Texans overall rate well above national averages on virtually every published statistic involving sexual risk-taking behavior” (Just Say Don’t kNOw, pg. 1). Behavior such as:

• Having sexual intercourse (52.9% of Texan Teens vs. 47.8% national average);
• Having intercourse with four or more people (17.1% vs. 14.9%); and
• Not using a condom the last time they had intercourse (43.6% vs. 38.5%).

What is the result of so many Texas children engaging in sexually risky behavior? In 2006, Texas had the third highest teen birth rate in the country, an increase from 2005. In addition, Texas taxpayers spend an estimated $1 billion annually for the cost of teen childrearing. In 2008, Chlamydia cases among Collin County teens were up a staggering 27%. (Texas Department of State Health Services)

Second, let’s talk about the difference between abstinence-only sexuality health education and abstinence-plus. According to the TFN report,

“Abstinence-only sexuality education programs present abstinence as the only choice of acceptable behavior for unmarried youth.” (pg.7)

Currently, abstinence-only programs avoid discussing condoms and other contraception or they offer false and misleading information on contraceptives’ ability to offer risk protection (most specifically, condoms).

Abstinence-only proponents claim that telling teens how to have safe sex is akin to telling them to go and have sex. Texas teen birth statistics show clearly that teens are having sex regardless of what teachers tell them. The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported that over 50% of Texas high school students reported having engaged in sexual intercourse at least once. (Just Say Don’t kNOw, pg. 8)

Across the country, abstinence-only programs are failing. According to the latest CDC report published March 18, 2009, “the birth rate for U.S. teenagers 15-19 years rose again in 2007 by about 1 percent, to 42.5 births per 1,000.” President Bush only offered Federal Title V compensation to schools teaching abstinence-only programs. Many schools across the country, already cash-strapped, took the bait to offset expenses. (Texas receives the most federal abstinence dollars - $18 million in 2007 alone.) We can now see the results.

On the other hand, abstinence-plus programs offer abstinence as the best choice to protect oneself but deals with the reality that not all students are going to make that choice. Programs in this category urge abstinence from pre-marital sex while teaching teens the facts of life to prepare them for adult life decisions. For example, abstinence-plus programs teach students who choose to be sexually active how to protect themselves from STDs by giving them medically accurate information based on studies done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

If, then, Collin County’s largest ISDs follow a strict abstinence-only sexuality health program, what are students learning? According to the research done by TFN, Texas students are victims of the abstinence-only “conspiracy of silence.” In the series that follows, you will see that Collin County is as silent as the rest of Texas on the topic of sexual health.

While our series will focus on ISDs in Allen, McKinney, Plano and Frisco, Collin County contains many other smaller school districts. School districts that reside exclusively in Collin County includes:

• Allen ISD
• Anna ISD
• Blue ridge ISD
• Celina ISD
• Community ISD
• Farmersville ISD
• Frisco ISD
• Lovejoy ISD
• Mckinney ISD
• Melissa ISD
• Plano ISD
• Princeton ISD
• Prosper ISD
• Wylie ISD

School districts that are shared between Collin County and other counties include portions of:

• Bland ISD
• Gunter ISD
• Leonard ISD
• Royse city ISD
• Trenton ISD
• Van alstyne ISD
• Whitewright ISD

What do the schools in your school district teach?

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Related Postings:

• Obama's 2010 Budget Eliminates Federal Funding For Abstinence-Only Sex Ed
• Help Teens Get Accurate Health Information
• Planned Parenthood of North Texas: Lobbying for Women's and Teens' Reproductive Health

Additional Reading:

• Teen Birth Rate Rises in U.S., Reversing a 14-Year Decline
• Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds
• Many Teens Don't Keep Virginity Pledges

The Texas Democratic Women of Collin Co. Will Host Guest Speaker Kathy Miller, Pres. Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, At The Group's Meeting On Monday, July 27, 2009. Ms. Miller will talk about the Education Fund's year-long study on sexuality health education in Texas public schools. See the "Calendar Box" in the left sidebar of this blog for more details.