Brevard Public Schools wisely moved in 2007 to broaden its abstinence-only sex education curriculum to include information about birth control, as allowed under state law.
And to use certified teachers who can be held accountable for presenting science-based data not outside groups that might skew the facts.
Sitting in front of the roomful of teenagers, Julie Collins is nervous.
The 35-year-old flips her hair and wrings her hands and slips her feet in and out of her shoes. Most of the teens, part of a workforce training program, are fidgeting, too, and they don't stop when Collins starts talking.
"I'm HIV positive," Collins says. "I'm going to tell you about me and then give you all some facts."
The argument in support of comprehensive sex education in the public school system keeps gaining traction, yet the Legislature continues to bottle up House and Senate bills that would end abstinence-only curriculum.
Florida's state budget is being slashed. Many of these cuts will be penny-wise but pound-foolish, costing the state more in the long term. More unconscionable is that ineffective programs, such as the Title V abstinence-only program and so-called "crisis pregnancy centers," are still being financed.
There is a crisis in Florida. Our young people face some of the worst sexual health outcomes in the country, but still the state accepts federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Florida received approximately $13 million in federal money in 2008 for these ineffective, harmful programs. A 2007 study, commissioned by the federal government, found no evidence that abstinence-only programs curb sexual behavior.
There is a crisis in Florida. Our young people face some of the worst sexual health outcomes in the country, but Florida accepts federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
Florida received approximately $13 million in federal money in 2008 for these failed programs.
Dr. William Colliton’s letter, “Chastity education is the way to go” (March 5), could not be more timely. A report was released recently by the Sexuality Information and Education Counsel of the United States titled “Sex education in the Sunshine State: How abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are keeping Florida’s youth in the dark.”
