From The Sacramento Bee:
...With Abstinence Plus, students are still encouraged to abstain from sex but are taught the dangers of having unprotected sex from a health standpoint.Dr. Martha Liddell, superintendent for the Columbus Municipal School District, said the school district chose to teach Abstinence Plus after consulting with educators, parents, school nurses and a representative from the Mississippi Department of Health."We heard statistics that would blow your mind," Liddell said. "There are a lot of children involved in sexual relationships."Liddell said that during that initial meeting, both she and fellow educators were "floored" to learn that girls as young as nine years old were being diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)."This is an issue for our nation and an issue for our state," Liddell said. "We chose Abstinence Plus to teach students how making the wrong decision can affect your health."Abstinence Plus will be taught at every age level from sixth grade to 12th grade as part of health classes. The students will be separated by gender, and the course will span a six-week period...
Statistics show that places that teach abstinence only education have far higher rates of teen pregnancy and STD's then places that have a more comprehensive approach. More conservative locations are still insisting that the abstinence-only illusion be maintained as a viable education method. This will only happen at the detriment of children, who will end up having children of their own WAY before they thought they would. I'm really glad that these schools, especially given that they are in the very socially conservative deep South, are bucking the trend of other conservative places and embracing the fact that in order for people to make the best possible decision, they need as much information as possible.
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