San Francisco Chronicle Examines Differences In Federal, California Sex Education Policy

The San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday examined the differences between California and the Bush administration on sex education for middle and high school students (Weiss, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/11). The Title V abstinence education grant program, administered by HHS' Administration for Children and Families, distributes funds to states based on a formula favoring states with more low-income children. To receive Title V funds, states must adhere to requirements, including barring teachers from discussing contraception and requiring teachers to say that sex within marriage is "the expected standard of sexual activity." California, Maine, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have rejected the grants (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/31/06). A study conducted by Laura Duberstein Lindberg and colleagues at the Guttmacher Institute published in the December 2006 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health found that because of changing trends in federal funding from 1995 to 2002 teenagers nationwide were "significantly more likely to have received instruction about how to say no to sex than ... birth control methods." California school districts are required to teach HIV/AIDS prevention, and state guidelines require that districts provide medically accurate information about contraception, while also "emphasizing that abstinence is the only sure method to avoid pregnancy," the Chronicle reports. Angela Griffiths, executive director of the Hayward, Calif.-based abstinence-only program Await and Find, said California is turning down $7 million annually that could be used to reach more young people, adding that she believes that the Guttmacher study's conclusions about the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs are "incorrect." Hilary McLean, press secretary for California schools chief Jack O'Connell, said the state has "made it clear where we stand," adding, "And yet the Bush administration and the state are still debating this." According to the Chronicle, more than $1 billion in federal funding has been provided for abstinence-only sex education programs in the past 10 years, and the Bush administration has budgeted $241.5 million for abstinence-only programs in 2007 (Weiss, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/11).

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