Schools to get new abstinence curriculum

Schools to get new abstinence curriculumA 14-year-old sex education curriculum is being removed from New Hanover County middle schools starting next school year.Classes will still urge students to abstain from sex until marriage, but the lessons will now come from the 2005 version of Sex Can Wait, one of only two abstinence-only curriculums that don't contain medical and factual inaccuracies, according to congressional analysis."It's a clear title; it sends a clear message," Jayne Emma, New Hanover County Schools health educator, told school board members on Monday. "It's very hard to find any criticism of Sex Can Wait."The abstinence-education program, which was developed at the University of Arkansas, has been nationally recognized for its accuracy and effectiveness.In December 2004, the Waxman Report on Abstinence Education found Sex Can Wait did not contain any misleading information about reproductive health, unlike other curriculums often used in federally funded, school-based abstinence-education programs.A panel of New Hanover County school and community representatives recently selected the state-approved curriculum out of nine programs it has been reviewing since April. The school board did not have to take action on the curriculum change.Emma said the district's "abstinence-only" education program, which is federally funded, has been under review for the past 18 months.Last December, the district's "abstinence-only" education books Sex Respect and Me, My World, My Future were called misleading in a report from NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, an abortion-rights group that supports teaching teenagers about birth control.Emma said parents often have been confused about what their students would be learning based on the current curriculum titles.Teen Aid, which is offered to sixth- and seventh-graders, touches on abstinence until marriage, friendships, effective communication, puberty, consequences of premarital sex and sexually transmitted diseases. Eighth-graders spend nine days learning from Sex Respect, which covers abstinence until marriage, differences in male and female sexuality, sexual decision making, differences between needs and drives, risks of premarital sex, saying "no," parenting and adoption.Both of the curriculums were last revised in 1993, Emma said.Sex Respect questions the protection that condoms provide against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. NARAL also found problems with other passages in the book, including: a statement that chemical birth control damages the inside of a girl's body; a comparison in one of the teacher's guides that likens using condoms to playing Russian roulette; and another teacher guide's statement that abortion is not the best choice because it makes the baby pay for the parents' decision.Information about the new curriculum will be provided at open houses to parents this spring and also will be available on the district's Web site."We think it's a great selection," said Dorothy DeShields, school board member.