[dropcap]A[/dropcap]bstinence based education remains the leading focus on sex education in Texas classrooms. However, programs that include information about condoms and other forms of contraception are increasing slightly in popularity across the state.
A quarter of Texas public school districts offered no sex education at all during the 2015-2016 school year, according to a new study released in February by the Texas Freedom Network.
Nearly 60 percent of districts used abstinence-only education programs over the same period.
According to the study, 58.3 percent of school districts in Texas teach abstinence-only programs, which is down from 94 percent in 2008.
Meanwhile, the number of school districts that have adopted an approach known as “abstinence-plus,” which still encourages abstinence but also discusses accurate information on other pregnancy prevention methods and sexually transmitted diseases, has risen from 3.6 percent to 16.6 percent. Hays CISD is one of those district that has adopted abstinence-plus.
“We use the Big Decisions abstinence-plus curriculum in our health classes,” said Macie Walker, RN and director of Student Health Resources of Hays CISD. “The curriculum includes a variety of resources included in the lessons that the teachers teach.”
“Though we focus the majority of our education on abstinence as the most effective method for prevention of pregnancy and disease, we do include other methods for prevention as included in the Health TEKS ... Contraception and condom use are taught in terms of human use reality rates instead of theoretical laboratory rates.” Macie Walker, RN and Director of Student Health Resources of Hays CISD
A law passed in 1995 under former Governor George W. Bush which gives districts the decision in how, or if, they want to offer sex education as long as they teach more about abstinence than any other method.
Though that leaves room for more comprehensive approaches, the vast majority of districts chose to teach only abstinence. There are still no requirements under Texas law that require education on STDs and HIV/AIDS.
“Though we focus the majority of our education on abstinence as the most effective method for prevention of pregnancy and disease, we do include other methods for prevention as included in the Health TEKS,” Walker said. “Contraception and condom use are taught in terms of human use reality rates instead of theoretical laboratory rates.”
Texas ranked fifth highest in the nation in teen birth rates in 2015, with 41 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19. The state also ranks first in repeat teen pregnancies among women in the same age range, according to data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
The rate has steadily declined since 2011, when the state saw 63 births per 1,000 in 15-to-19 year-old women.
According to the CDC, this decline can be attributed to a combination of teens abstaining from sex and the use of prophylactics by teens who do engage in sexual relations.
However, it is unclear if teens that abstain from sex do so purely from the influence of abstinence based education or if this change is emblematic of the national trend of declining birth rates, according to the study.
School districts like Hays CISD also gather information to help identify local trends that may put children at risk.
“Biannually, Hays CISD conducts the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) at all of our high schools,” Walker said. “The YRBS is a questionnaire developed by the CDC to measure participation in identified risky behavior among high school students.”
Hays utilizes this information in a program Girl Talk/Boy Talk, a program geared towards middle school students that is designed to help parents talk to their children about sexual health and responsibility in developmentally appropriate and medically accurate terms.
“Girl Talk/Boy Talk is an event that will help start the conversation between students and their parents about sexual health and responsibility, and provide tools and resources to continue the conversation at home in the context of your own family values,” Walker said.
FAST FACTS
- Texas ranks fifth highest in the nation in teen birth rates in 2015, with 41 births per
1,000 women aged 15 to 19.
- Texas ranked first in repeat teen pregnancies among women in the same age range.
- Hays County saw 1,268 teen births in 2016, ending with a teen pregnancy rate of 25
births per 1,000 female population between the ages of 15-19.
From the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
