Lubbock, Texas... A place with more churches per capita that has a serious sex education problem. This is where I was born and raised. My experience with sex education has been a very interesting one. The only sex education that Lubbock Independent School District believed in was a man by the name of Ed Ainsworth, or sex ed as he like to be called. Sex Ed is a horrible nick name for this man because he spreads false information through his faith based abstinence only program. He would tell students the the could receive a STD just by shaking hands with someone and other outrageous falsities. This and the ridiculous mentioning that condoms were 37% effective in the health book were the only sex education that LISD students received. Luckily, the PTAs of Lubbock schools took a stand and Ainsworth does not speak at as many schools. However, Lubbock is still in big trouble. The school board heavily censors any mention of comprehensive sex education even while STD rates continue to be sky high. When, I was Editor-In-Chief of the school newspaper at Lubbock Coronado and I was told by the administration that I could not express my opinions on sex education in the paper. The administration is too concerned with religion to see that the problem must be handled and they are afraid of anyone trying to make light of it. Activist like myself must take a stand in Lubbock and across the country to show that we are not afraid like them and we know what we want and need. This country was founded on the principle of separation of church and state and religion should never stop the education of the youth.  Comprehensive sex education is vital for not only for our youth but for our entire lives and should be taught just like any other subject. Lubbock ISD must stop hiding behind the BIble and give students the skills they need to be prepared for life.

- Devin Knox

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about the possibility that a central Texas school district would ditch abstinence-only policies and adopt abstinence-plus. Now I’m writing about that reality.

In a 5-2 decision Monday night, the San Marcos CISD Board of Trustees voted to improve their sex-education curriculum. They gave the boot to Scott & White’s abstinence-only Worth the Wait curriculum in favor of a more comprehensive approach to teaching about sexuality. The new policy will highlight information about contraceptives, including condoms.

The move didn’t come without opposition though.

“I assume that the majority students at San Marcos High School are Christian,” Trustee David Castillo said. “And if that is the case, then this whole thing is anti-Christian.”

Sounds to me like David Castillo needs a lesson in separation of church and state.

Trustee Castillo and Trustee Jesse Ponce were the two who voted against the change. According to the San Marcos Local News “Ponce expressed horror at reading a proposed abstinence plus curricula that teaches students how to use condoms.”

“That has never left my mind,” Ponce said. “That part I read where he shows someone how to put on a condom — that only tells me one thing.”

Other Trustees said they believed their Christian religious beliefs did not conflict with the teaching of abstinence-plus.

They also spoke up against the idea of removing controversial subject matter, such as condom usage, due to the sentiments of the majority of the community.

Members of the Unitarian Universalist church also spoke out in support of the abstinence-plus change.

They demonstrated that people of faith are a powerful ally in our fight for comprehensive sex-ed.

The School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) is the group that made the recommendation to the Board.

This case serves as an example of the effectiveness of SHACs and the impact they can have on local policy.

If you want to change the sex-ed curriculum in your local schools, join a SHAC.

Once the recommendation had been made Amanda Domaschk, local progressive activist and rapid responder for the Texas Youth Leadership Council, sounded the alarm and activated young people and progressives in her community to pressure the Board of Trustees to support abstinence-plus.

She used e-mail, Facebook and personal phone calls to accomplish this.

The co-author of the Texas Freedom Network’s report Just Say Don’t Know: Sexuality Education in Texas Public Schools, Dr. David Wiley, also pressured the Board to adopt abstinence-plus.

Dr. Wiley is an expert on public health and sexual education and the report he helped author demonstrates that 94% of Texas school districts teach abstinence-only.

2.3% teach nothing at all and 3.6% of school districts teach abstinence-plus.

The Texas Freedom Network also sent out a message to its members in the San Marcos area, including students at Texas State University which is located in the city, to become active. In this way students who previously signed the Youth Leadership Council’s Education Works petition for comprehensive sex-ed helped to make a difference.

Soon, the TFN Youth Leadership Council will have two members living in San Marcos and attending Texas State University where they can join this SHAC and push even harder for fully comprehensive sex-ed.

Read the full story here.

Monday night, the San Marcos, TX school board voted to start teaching Abstinence Plus. It is a program for grades six through 12 that not only teaches waiting but also educates students on how to have safe sex with the use of birth control and condoms.

There were 70 teen moms in the district in the last year.

Read the full article here.

Good News Texan* Sex-Ed Advocates! We're not as alone as the religious right would have us believe! The Texas Freedom Network recently released new poll results with some amazingly encouraging statistics for when we approach our state legislative body and our school boards.

Among my favorite of the statistics? 80 percent of likely voters in Texas agree that high school classes on sex education should teach "about contraception, such as condoms and other birth control, along with abstinence." TFN's blog post on the study segregates the findings further between different religious, political and racial/ethnic groups.

I'm going to savor that for a moment. It's nearly opposite of how Texas Sex Education works. While 9 in 10 school districts teach abstinence-only, 8 in 10 Texans want comprehensive sexual education reform. Not only is the will of an extreme majority of Texans being denied, but they are supported by peer-reviewed research that points out comprehensive sexual education makes teens safer and creates a more responsible and educated adult society.

Likely Texas voters respond even more strongly when it comes to LGBTQ youth and "non-traditional" relationships. TFN's report also shares that 88 percent of likely Texas voters think public schools should be required "to protect all children from bullying, harassment, and discrimination in school, including the children of gay and lesbian parents or teenagers who are gay." The hateful and perverse rhetoric continually shouted by anti-LGBTQ groups is falling increasingly on barren ground. This reaffirms the reality that a majority of Americans, including a majority of conservative Americans, are not as spiteful or prejudiced as their leaders or unofficial spokespeople. The Rick Perrys, Sarah Palins and Glenn Becks of the world are speaking to an ever increasing minority.

Unfortunately, this loud, manipulative, and powerful minority must be reminded of reality. These statistics need to be continually in front of them. These statistics also need to be in front of our school districts, School Health Advisory Committees (SHACs), school principals, and teachers as they face down a diminishing and vocal minority unable to accept the dignity of youth and of "others."

Please, contact your representatives and tell them to you agree with the Majority of Texans that Comprehensive Sexual Education is necessary for teens to become responsible adults.

*To be fair, if this is what Texan voters believe, it's good news for everybody. When a (moderate) majority conservative state believes so strongly for comprehensive sexual education, I wouldn't be surprised to see even more extreme numbers in the more liberal states.

crossposted to http://lklouise.com

Everyone associates Texas with the Republican Party.It’s hard not to. But what does the Republican Party of Texas actually stand for? Are they homophobic? Transphobic? Close-minded? The answer is a resounding yes – and we should pay attention. Texas is an influential state in national politics. Its sheer size can determine a presidential election and swells the state's importance in the House.

Texas is a friendly place. In fact, the name "Texas" comes from the Native-American Caddo language and means "friend" or "ally". It is a place where individualism is celebrated and everyone is encouraged to chart their own path in life.People really do believe there’s nothing they can’t do. As a Texan, I believe in these things. But we're not living up to our name. The State of Texas is not even close to being called an "ally" to gay, lesbian and transgendered people.

In Texas, you're told you can do anything, but if you're a particular type of person, there are some basic things that you can't do.If you’re gay or lesbian couple, you can’t get married.If you’re a young person, you can’t rely on your public school to provide you with medically accurate sex education.

How can a state that is seemingly so open and accepting of diverse people and individuality be so close minded at the same time?

A part of this is politics. Currently, the Republican Party of Texas has a stranglehold on Texas politics; they hold every state-wide office.Recently the Grand Old Party in Texas adopted its newest platform. See for yourself.

WARNING: Some of the content you are about to read is disturbing and may be objectionable to some readers. 

More...

I recently found an interesting video on the blog ran by the folks of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.)

These days it’s just common sense to have your dogs and cats spayed or neutered.  Overpopulation of dogs and cats has led to a strain on animal shelters yet people still tend to buy designer dogs from breeders rather than adopting.  Is it a lack of education?  Watch this short, tongue-in-cheek public service announcement about spaying and neutering and look for the parallels between its message and our struggle for comprehensive sex-ed.

This lesson applies to humans too.  We know it’s ridiculous not to spay or neuter a pet and that we need to teach people to do so, but isn’t it just as ridiculous not to talk to young people about safe-sex?  After all, young people have a right to medically-accurate comprehensive sex-ed.  Just like we take care of the sexual health of our pets, we need to take care of our own sexual health.  By promoting comprehensive sex-ed we’re making sure all young people can make the best decisions.

A common problem many teachers have with teaching comprehensive sex ed is that they feel that it is not their place to talk to students about what our society considers such a morally controversial topic.  Talking about sex is with adults is awkward for most youth, and so it is logical to conclude that it's likely not easy for adults to talk to youth about sex either.

One possible solution to the awkward problem is being implemented in several classrooms across Texas: computers.  Evidence-based sex ed programs such as the one mentioned in the article below allow students access to the information they need while skipping the teacher as the middle man.  Of course, teachers are available to answer specific questions, but I think most students and teachers would agree that it's much more comfortable to breach the topic with a machine.

http://www.ksat.com/news/23535302/detail.html

I graduated from a high school in Dallas that, when I attended, had absolutely no form of sex education, comprehensive or otherwise.  Now my brothers are attending that same high school and tonight my mom became PTA president.  Traditionally this office is somewhat inconsequential, but fortunately my mom has already begun to use this position of relative power to improve the education of the students at the school.

This school is an inner city public high school with a ridiculous number of teenage pregnancies.  And yet, when they finally added a sex ed program it was completely abstinence only and is taught by uber right wing, Christian fundamentalists.  When teaching my brothers he not only spoke about the religious implications of sex without any regard to scientific fact, but also went so far as to declare homosexuality wrong and immoral.  All of this to a class of fifteen year old students at a PUBLIC school.  In no way should this be acceptable.

Tonight my mom initiated her battle for comprehensive sex ed at my alma mater and I have no doubt that it is a battle she will win.  It may take time and a lot of persistence, but I have faith that eventually reason will conquer ignorance.  In a state like Texas it is often hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it  comes to sex education, but it is people like my mom who are willing to step up and fight the good fight for one school that will allow the students of Texas access to comprehensive, medically accurate sex ed.

Today's teenage generation definitely has the rep of being sex crazed partiers whose only interest is having a good time.  Long gone are the "good old days" of purity.  Or at least that is what many seem to think.  Contrary to this belief, however, are the findings from recent studies examining teenage pregnancy rates (among other things) in several countries world wide.  Though some showed more improvement than others, the trend is clear: teen pregnancy rates are decreasing.

In Canada, teenage pregnancy is down 36% from ten years ago.  The teenage pregnancy rates in the United States (though still considerably higher than most other countries) have also dropped about 25% within the decade.  

Now the question is what is causing this decline, and what can we do to continue this trend of improvement?

http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/05/27/despite-stereotype-of-of-over-sexed-youth-teen-pregnancy-down-36