Anti-abortion Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Number 8, a true/false designed statement on the "Sexual Health/Knowledge Pretest Game" says, "Participants in abstinence education programs are just as likely to engage in sexual activity as students who have received 'safe-sex' education (instruction in how to use condoms, etc.)"

The Alpha Center says the answer is FALSE.

This statement of "alleged fact" also goes directly to the Alpha Center's religious and philosophical beliefs. When I asked, the Alpha Center told me the proof for this statement was from Family Planning Perspectives, 1990 (a publication of the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the well respected research arm of Planned Parenthood). So I consulted that cite. That statement by the Alpha Center is, on its face, absolutely false.

The January/February 1990 issue of Family Planning Perspectives was titled, "Helping Teenagers Postpone Sexual Involvement," and was authored by Marion Howard and Judith Blamey McCabe. They looked at a curriculum called "Postponing Sexual Involvement (PSI)", a school-based program

designed to delay sexual activity among teens. The program curriculum was developed at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital in 1983 and was added to the existing sexuality education program. The revised program was then introduced into the Atlanta public schools in 1985.

PSI was first implemented in regular classrooms in one school district to 536 low-income African-American 8th graders in Atlanta, GA, whose parents attended a public hospital. A comparison group included students from 3 smaller adjacent school districts that received existing sex education programs. Telephone interviews were conducted in the 8th, 9th, and 12th grades for both program and comparison groups at baseline and after the intervention.

The hospital had initiated in mid-1970, a sex education program called "Human Sexuality," which consisted of five classroom sessions in which basic human sexuality, decision-making, and contraceptives were discussed, but evaluations of the program revealed that only providing information was not effective in changing teen behavior.

Dr. Marion Howard and Marie Mitchell developed PSI to supplement the Grady Memorial Hospital's Human Sexuality program. PSI is based on the 'social influence' theory. The theory says that young people are more likely to become sexually active not because a lack of knowledge but because of social and peer pressure. Promising Practices Network on their Web Site in February 2002 said, "PSI utilizes activities that help identify the origins of pressure to engage in sexual activity, examines the motivations behind that pressure, and helps students develop skills to respond to that pressure effectively. The program is also built on research that shows that teenage leaders (11th and 12th graders in this program) produce greater and more lasting effects on other teens' behavior than do adults." These peer role models present factual information, identify pressures, role-play responses to pressures, teach assertiveness skills and discuss problem situations. BUT, says Howard and McCabe, "because young people also need the detailed information about reproduction, family planning and sexually transmitted diseases

contained in the original curriculum, 'Postponing Sexual Involvement' was added to the existing program.

The PSI program covers four main areas: an emphasis on abstinence from or delay of sexual activity, life-skills training, sexuality education, and contraceptive education. Abstinence is presented as the best way to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The life-skills component includes activities that help students build decision-making skills, set goals for their lives, learn how to say no to sex and negotiate within relationships. Sexuality education refers to a broad-based curriculum covering physical growth and the development of healthy sexual attitudes and values. Contraceptive education covers methods of contraception, how such methods are used, and their effectiveness in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Although PSI does not directly provide access to contraceptives, some of the Atlanta staff members were from a nearby family planning clinic and therefore provided indirect access to contraceptives."

"So, the sex-education curriculum under review in Family Planning Perspectives
{the source the Alpha Center cites for number 8 on their
Sexual Health/Knowledge Pretest Game}.
is an abstinence-based comprehensive or safe-sex program NOT an abstinence-only till marriage sex education curriculum such as the Alpha Center provides."

The complete 10-period sexuality education program, 5 periods devoted to the abstinence curriculum and 5 to reproduction, family planning or contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases - with the 5th period of the abstinence curriculum delivered 1-3 months later to reinforce program content, is presented each year to all eighth grade students in 19 separate schools-approximately 4,500 students each year.

So, the sex-education curriculum under review in Family Planning Perspectives - January/February 1990, is an abstinence-based comprehensive or safe-sex program - NOT an abstinence-only till marriage sex education curriculum such as the Alpha Center provides.

But the Alpha Center isn't the only promoter of abstinence-only till marriage sex education programs playing foot-loose with the truth about Howard and McCabe's evaluation of the Grady Memorial Hospital's Revised Human Sexuality program. Virginia State Department

of Health's Office of Family Health Services said on their Web Site page titled Virginia Abstinence Education Initiative - Data and Statistics on March 25, 2003, "An evaluation of the Postponing Sexual Involvement (PSI) curriculum showed that its participants were five times less likely to become sexually active than those not involved in the program." They cite Howard and McCabe's article in Family Planning Perspectives, however, the conclusion the reader of that statement is left to draw; the insinuation, is that this was a typical abstinence-only till marriage curriculum which references contraceptives and condoms only in terms of their "alleged" failure rates; that no other sex education curriculum was in play, which isn't just misleading, it too is flat out on its face untrue. Moreover, this particular statement is more general in its conclusion than the true statement made by Howard and McCabe in their evaluation of the Grady Memorial Hospital's Revised Human Sexuality program.

In addressing the issue of success, of, this abstinence-based comprehensive program, Howard and McCabe said, "To evaluate the revised program, a prospective study was designed to determine whether adding Postponing Sexual Involvement to the existing human sexuality program would reduce the rate of sexual involvement among young people." The authors concluded the following:

"The major goal of Grady Memorial Hospital's Postponing Sexual Involvement program given in eighth grade was to assist young people in postponing sexual intercourse. Overall, nearly three-quarters of the students in the program group had not had sexual intercourse before participating in the program. Based on the reports of these students, the study found that almost all (95 percent) who had not had sexual intercourse and who participated in the hospital's program felt the information personally would be helpful in saying no to sexual involvement. By the end of eighth grade, students who had not participated in the program were as much as five times more likely to have begun having sex than were those who had had the program. Program students were also more likely to continue to postpone sexual involvement: by the end of

ninth grade, 24 percent of the students who were participants in the program had begun having sex, compared with 39 percent of those who were not. The program appeared to help both boys and girls to postpone sexual activity."

Moreover, as a result of the Grady Hospital revised outreach program that added the PSI curriculum to an existing contraceptive/HIV/AIDS/sexually transmitted disease curriculum, not only were students who participated in the program postponing first time sexual involvement at a greater rate than those not involved in the program, but, according to Howard and McCabe, "Among students who had not had sex before the program began but did have sex after that time, many did use contraceptives - nearly half in the program group and close to one-third in the no-program group. Not only did more program than no-program students use contraceptives, but also 73 percent of the program students who used them said they did so because of what they had learned in school. In the no-program group, only 38 percent said they used birth control because of what they had learned in their schools."

"Howard and McCabe noted, 'Some parents and educators have wondered whether giving young people information about contraceptives along with support for postponing sexual involvement is too confusing a message.
Our data suggest that the two messages are not incompatible."

Along that same line, and providing further indictment of #8 on the Alpha Center's "Sexual Health/Knowledge Pretest Game," Howard and McCabe noted, "Some parents and educators have wondered whether giving young people information about contraceptives along with support for postponing sexual involvement is too confusing a message. Our data suggest that the two messages are not incompatible. Young people who received instruction from family planning counselors about human sexuality, including family planning, and advice from student leaders about postponing sexual involvement used information from each component of the program. Students involved in the program were more likely both to postpone sexual involvement and to use contraceptives when they did have sex than were the no-program group." Howard and McCabe also noted however, that "the majority of young people in both the program and no-program groups who did have sex did not use contraceptives."

Even The Colorado Department of Health Web Site Titled: Highlights - Chapter VII - Healthy Teen Sexuality, says:

"MYTH: If I talk to my child about sex, he or she will be more likely to 'do it.'

FACT: Children whose parents talk with them about sexual matters or provide sexuality education or contraceptive information at home are more likely than others to postpone sexual activity. And when these adolescents become sexually active, they have fewer sexual partners and are more likely to use contraceptives and condoms than young people who do not discuss sexual matters with their parents." Source: Talking with Kids about Sex, Talking with Kids about Tough Issues: www.talkingwithkids.org

And the web site also says, "Comprehensive approaches to sexuality education have been tested and evaluated for the last two to three decades. Well-researched comprehensive sexuality programs that have been found to be effective, when implemented as designed, can be successful in preventing teen pregnancy. Existing research on mixed programs indicates that encouraging abstinence and teaching about contraception are not incompatible. Programs that urge teens to postpone having intercourse but also discuss contraception do not accelerate the onset of sex, increase the frequency of sex or increase the number of partners. They do increase the use of contraception among teens that become sexually active."

"Programs that urge teens to postpone having intercourse but also discuss contraception do not accelerate the onset of sex, increase the frequency of sex or increase the number of partners."

Additional evidence of the success of Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital's revised Human Sexuality program is the speculation about the results of the program. Howard and McCabe in their critique asked the question: "Would the Postponing Sexual Involvement component given by itself, without a complementary human sexuality education program, be as effective?" The answer appears to be no, it would not be as effective.

Promising Practices Network, again on their Web Site in February 2002 noted, "Based on PSI, a similar program was implemented in Great Britain. The program there consisted of 25 to 30 one-hour lessons given in Grades 9 and 10. A team consisting of a doctor and a teacher presented six of the lessons. They then trained other teachers, who presented 15 to 20 lessons, and peer leaders, who led four of the sessions. The program covered topics such as puberty, reproduction, contraception, negotiation in relationships, and training in assertiveness skills.Mellanby, in School Sex Education: An Experimental Program with Educational and Medical Benefit, British Medical Journal, evaluated the program in Great Britain and found that: 'in each year, program students increased their knowledge related to contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, and the true prevalence of sexual activity among their peers and there was a relative decrease in sexual activity among

program students compared to control students. In 1994, control students were 1.45 times more likely to have had sex than program students'.the program in Great Britain was based on PSI and seems to have been successful in obtaining similar results regarding youths delaying their sexual activity."

Promising Practices Network then noted that a large-scale replication of the program in California "did not produce any of the positive effects seen in the Atlanta study. The California program, called Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL) initiative, took place from 1992 to 1994. An evaluation (by Douglas Kirby, PhD of the National Campaign to Prevent Pregnancy in Family Planning Perspectives, 1997).found that youths in treatment and control groups were equally likely to have become sexually active or to have reported a pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease seventeen months after the program." Promising Practices Network in identifying one of the factors contributing to its failure said, "Personal observations of the sessions revealed that some of the adults did not like the program's emphasis on postponing sexual involvement and the exclusion of information about contraception and disease prevention. This identifies a problem with the replication given that the Human Sexuality program in Atlanta provided that information."

"Over the decade, teen sexual activity and birthrates have declined, nationally as well as in Colorado.In 2001, 66.7% of currently sexually active high school students had use a condom during their last sexual intercourse, compared to 52.9% in 1995."

Additionally, the Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report dated May 9, 2003 said that Dr. Blair Johnson of the University of Connecticut-Storrs Center for Health/HIV Intervention and Prevention, along with other colleagues, reviewed 44 studies that were available as of January 2, 2001, comprising data for more than 56 interventions including 35,000 participants between the ages of 11 and 18. "Researchers found reductions in sexual risk for teens who participated in intervention programs that offered more information on condoms or dispensed condoms were more likely to reduce teens' high-risk sexual behavior. In addition students in 'generic sex education' programs were less likely than teens in programs that included behavioral skills to use condoms - the 'clearest indication that information alone is insufficient to alter condom use behavior."

The Colorado Department of Health Web Site: Highlights - Chapter VII - Healthy Teen Sexuality, offers this evidence:

TRENDS:

"Over the decade, teen sexual activity and birthrates have declined, nationally as well as in Colorado. In 2001, 42.3% of high school students surveyed reported having had sexual intercourse at least once in their lives, compared to 46.6% percent in 1995.

In 2001, 66.7 percent of currently sexually active high school students had used a condom during their last sexual intercourse, compared to 52.9 percent in 1995.

Among teens 15-17 years old, the birth rate has declined from a high of 36.3 per 1,000 in 1992 to 25.4 in 2001. In 2000, rates for African American teens declined 40 percent.

Birth rates for white non-Hispanic teens declined by 29 percent; and rates for Hispanic teens declined 15 percent."

PROGRESS REPORT:

"By 2000, reduce the birth rate for teen girls aged 15-17 to 29.5 per 1,000, from the 1990 baseline of 32.8 per 1,000.
Status: Objective Met - In 2000, the birth rate declined to 29.4 per 1,000, and declined further in 2001 to 25.4 per 1,000
Source: Vital Statistics, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

AND THIS: "By 2000, increase to 25% the proportion of high school youth that report use of birth control pills during last intercourse, from the 1990 baseline of 10.4%. Status: Objective Not Met Use of birth control pills increased to 16.9%. However, use of other new hormonal contraceptives increased. (Under Table 1:Teen Sexual Activity: Risk and Protective Factors: Longer-acting hormonal contraceptives such as Depo-Provera are now readily available, making consistent use of contraceptives easier for sexually active teens.)

AND THIS: "In 2001, 66.7 percent of currently sexually active high school students had used a condom during their last sexual intercourse, compared to 52.9 percent in 1995...By 2000, increase to 60% the proportion of high school teens that report use of condoms during last intercourse, from the 1990 baseline of 53.1%. Status: Objective Exceeded. Condom use increased to 66.7%." Source: 2001 Colorado Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

AND FINALLY THIS: "By 2000, decrease the rate of gonorrhea in teens 15 to 19 year-old to 400 per 100,000, from the 1990 baseline of 525 per 100,000.
Status: Objective Exceeded. Gonorrhea rates declined to 230.8 per 100,000.
Source: Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

"Abstinence-based Comprehensive Sex Education Programs in Colorado,
that stress abstinence but which also provides accurate information about HIV/AIDS, STDs, contraceptives and condoms,
seems to have positively impacted the behavior of Colorado teens."

Abstinence-based Comprehensive Sex Education Programs in Colorado, that stress abstinence but which also provides accurate information about HIV/AIDS, STDs, contraceptives and condoms seems to have positively impacted the behavior of Colorado teens with more choosing to remain abstinent and more sexually active teens using condoms and contraceptives. If the only information about condoms nearly all or a majority of Colorado students had received during this time period consisted of statements like these made by Andrea Barber, educational director at the Alpha Center, "If a person has AIDS a condom can prevent it in some cases yes but it won't always protect you, they can slip and break.condoms provide risk reduction for some STDs and won't work 100% of the time.." etc., I seriously doubt the above results would have been possible.

Next, Dr. Joseph McIlhaney, well known for his anti-condom and abstinence-only till marriage sex education views, designed the slide presentation the Alpha Center uses in its STD presentation called, "Safe Sex." The Medical Institute for Sexual Health was

founded by Dr. McIlhaney and is based in Austin, Texas.

McIlhaney's web site page titled The Medical Institute Advisory, dated April 18, 2000 says, "The most dominant sexuality education of the past two decades has included a 'dual message -abstinence is best, but if you cannot be abstinent, use contraceptives.' The abstinence education component of some 'dual message' programs has been effective in influencing young people to remain abstinent. The effectiveness of the abstinence-education component contained in some 'dual message' programs that have resulted in delaying the onset of participants' sexual activity proves that young people can hear an abstinence message and respond by controlling their behavior. In those 'dual message' programs that have resulted in delaying the onset of participants' sexual activity, there is no logical reason to believe that any aspect of the program's contraceptive component causes this positive effect. When evaluating the results of sexuality education programs and similar activities, understanding the definition of 'effective' is critical.

Some 'dual message' programs have been called 'effective' by proponents because more participants report they used condoms or participants report fewer sexual partners. These are likely not the measures of effectiveness that most parents desire or that will adequately protect young people."

These statements on McIlhaney's web site attempting to disparage and discount the success and effectiveness of abstinence-based comprehensive sex education programs, in fact, only admits and makes clear their success.

McIlhaney acknowledges the real success and effectiveness of the abstinence piece of abstinence-based comprehensive sex education programs and even acknowledges that the contraceptive piece has a positive effect on teenager's choices to have fewer sexual partners and use contraceptives and condoms to protect themselves from pregnancy and STDs. But then, attempting to defend an anti-contraceptive, anti-condom, abstinence-only till marriage agenda, McIlhaney minimizes or tries to discount the effectiveness of the contraceptive piece, by implying it cannot be considered "effective," when you understand the only definition of

"effective" in sexuality education is, in so many words, being abstinent till marriage, even going as far as to speak for "most parents" in his assertion.

There is every logical reason to believe, and the evidence I discussed in the preceding pages clearly makes the case, that a scientifically correct and frank discussion of HIV, STDS, contraceptives, and the need for correct consistent use of contraceptives and particularly of condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS and STDS, contributes to such a "positive effect" upon students to decide to remain abstinent.

Sex educators of an abstinence-based comprehensive sex education curriculum want the abstinence message part of the program to encourage teens to remain abstinent, give them the skills and tools to abstain from sex until they are adults, give them an understanding that adults expect them to be abstinent as teenagers and that adults believe they are so capable. At the very least sex educators want the program to encourage teens and give them the skills necessary to postpone or delay sexual activity for a longer period than they might have without the abstinence message.

"Moreover, according to Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation interviews
conducted in 2000, 65% of parents favor an abstinence-based
comprehensive sex education program."

The fact is that abstinent-based comprehensive sex education programs can absolutely be declared successful and effective if there's both an increase in the number of teens who remain abstinent or remain so for a longer period than previously recorded or in previous years and if teens who, in spite of parents desires and educator's teachings, become sexually active but report having fewer sexual partners and report that they used pregnancy and disease protection which in turn leads to a decline in the number of teen pregnancies and cases of sexually transmitted disease, and teenage abortions.

Finally, McIlhaney does not provide any substantiation whatsoever for the statement that, "These are likely not the measures of effectiveness that most parents desire or that will adequately protect young people. In fact, 93% of Americans support teaching sex education to high school students and 89% of Americans believe it is important for young people to have information about contraception and STD prevention, according to data from public opinion survey conducted in March 1999 by Hickman-Brown Public

opinion Research for Advocates for Youth and SEICUS, (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States).

Moreover, according to Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation interviews conducted in 2000, 65 percent of parents favor an abstinence-based comprehensive sex education program. The study said, "Most parents (65%) say that if the topic of when young people should begin having sex is brought up, sex education should teach that 'young people should wait to have sex, but if they don't they should use birth control and practice safer sex;' one third (33%) say that if the topic comes up, abstinence as the only option until marriage should be presented."

In September 2000, the Kaiser Family Foundation released findings of their extensive study regarding sex education in America, (accessed on-line) which further proves McIlhaney's statement is self-serving and without basis in fact. In their study they interviewed 313 principals, 1001 teachers of sex education and 1,501 pairs of students and parents nationwide.

"The Kaiser report notes, 'some of the most surprising findings of the report involve what parents say they want schools to teach their children.how to discuss birth control with a partner, how to use condoms, other forms of birth control,
abortion, and sexual orientation."

The report notes that for most students, sex education is taught over a few class periods as part of health education. Seventh grade through twelfth grade students typically will take sex education only once with seventh and eighth grade classes typically providing the basics of reproduction. High school sex education classes tend to cover a wider range of topics including HIV/AIDS, STD's, the basics of reproduction and abstinence.

The report notes that "important negotiation and coping skills do not receive the same amount of classroom time," and "more practical skills such as where to get and how to use birth control, talk to a partner about an STD, or where to get tested are less frequently covered."

Kaiser's findings show that students and educators describe most sex education taught in public schools today as a comprehensive approach or teaching abstinence and providing some information about birth control and safer sex with one in three schools nationwide describing the main message in their sex education as an

abstinence-only or teaching abstinence, most often till marriage as the only option for teenagers.

The report notes, "Some of the most surprising findings of the report involve what parents say they want schools to teach their children. In general, parents want a wider range of topics taught than is often included in sex education today. Not only do parents strongly support covering the "core elements" already taught in most sex education - HIV/AIDS and other STD's, the basics of reproduction, and abstinence - they often want sex education to cover topics that are not uniformly taught, such as safer sex and negotiation skills. While nearly all parents report wanting sex education to teach students about safer sex and negotiation skills, far fewer students say that these topics were covered in their most recent sex education course. In some cases the gap is as wide as 25 to 35 percentage points between the percent of parents who say they want such topics included and the percent of students who report that they are covered."

When asked what they wanted their children to learn parents cited these topics and skills: pressure to have sexual intercourse (94%), how to discuss birth control with a partner (88%), how to use condoms (85%), other forms of birth control (84%), abortion (79%), and sexual orientation (76%).

In the March 3, 2003 Coloradoan newspaper article cited above, the education director for the Alpha Center, Andrea Barber said their abstinence-only till marriage class doesn't just tell students they should abstain from sex, but also tells them how to abstain and the importance of getting to know someone well before dating and having a date plan rather than just hanging out at someone's house. She said they also discuss refusal skills to use in different situations. But in fact, contrary to Barber's assertion, a recognizable and even in depth discussion of how to abstain, having a date plan and what that looks like in theory and practice, and the identification or even discussion of refusal skills was sketchy in some presentations and non-existent in the remainder I observed.

In Kaiser's study "one in five students (21%) say how to deal with pressure to have sex was not discussed in their most recent sex education course. Students seem to gain fewer practical skills for actually handling issues regarding sex. For example, while most sex education classes make some reference to birth control, fewer includes more detailed information such as where to get it and how to use it (59% of students and teachers say it is included)."

Further, Kaiser's report said that, "The topics for which this difference is greatest include what to do in cases of rape or sexual assault, talking to parents about sex, homosexuality, talking with partners about birth control, dealing with the emotional consequences of sex, and getting tested for HIV/AIDS and other STD's. Most, 74 percent, say they trust that their children's sex education is teaching attitudes and values that they support."

"The report also says parents (and students) also believe that sex
education 'merits additional classroom time...half a semester or more."

The report says parents also believe that sex education "merits additional classroom time." Courses today typically only last for one to three class sessions. The report says parents would like to see a sex education class last half of a semester or more. And students in this study gave "somewhat higher grades for courses that last a half a semester or more, rather than just a few class periods." Further, this study found that "courses that emphasize an abstinence-only message also tended to be shorter in duration than those that emphasize a comprehensive message. Only 14 percent of teachers of an abstinence-only curriculum reported that their course lasted a quarter to half a semester, as compared to one in four (24%) of teachers of courses with a comprehensive message."

It can be concluded from these findings that parents nationwide believe sex education to be an important and vital part of their children's educational experience and their students concur. It is clear that sex education should be given the utmost priority by public school officials including Poudre School

District where the provision of a good solid district-wide abstinence-based comprehensive sex education curriculum that is not diluted or compromised by a hodge-podge of site-based implementation practices that is in complete compliance with the district's comprehensive health education policy, and which is bold enough to provide what both parents and students are convinced is in the best interest of their children and themselves respectively.

Students in this study said, "They needed more information about sexual health issues than they are getting in school." They want more information about "negotiation and communication skills, in particular about how to deal with emotional issues and consequences of being sexually active (46%) and how to talk to a partner about birth control and STDS (46%). Students also want more information about what to do in cases of rape and sexual assault (55%), and how to use or where to obtain birth control (40%). Many students also said they need more information about topics that are standard in most sexuality education programs such as HIV/AIDS (47%)."

"Overall, students give mostly As and Bs in terms of how well their sex education is preparing them to understand the basics of reproduction, waiting to have sex, and dealing with pressure to have sex. Students rate the teaching of communications skills - such as how to talk with their parents or a boyfriend or girlfriend - somewhat lower. Instruction in how to use and where to get birth control - due in part to the fact that many courses do not teach this - also gets lower grades from students."

Other very interesting facts to come out of this study involve answers from sex education teachers.

Most described themselves as health teachers (56%). Fourteen percent described themselves as physical education teachers, ten percent biological and/or physical sciences, eleven percent home economics

and/or family and consumer science and five percent described the main subject they teach as sex education.

Next, a high percentage of teachers, 88% to 98%, say they teach the basics of how babies are made, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases other than HIV/AIDS, such as herpes, how to deal with the emotional issues and consequences of being sexually active, waiting to have sex until teens are older or married, and how to deal with pressure to have sex.

But only seventy-four percent reported they teach about birth control, that is methods of preventing pregnancy, and seventy-one percent say they teach students how to talk with a (girlfriend/boyfriend) or partner about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases, that is STDs, or how to talk with parents about sex and relationship issues.

Regarding teachers the Kaiser report said
"based on those who said birth control was not covered, 13% said it was because
they felt pressured by the community and parents not to teach it,
51% said it was because it was the school or district policy not to teach it."

Moreover, only fifty percent reported they taught students how to use condoms. Fifty-nine percent of teachers said they taught students how to use and where to get other birth control. Only forty-six percent and forty-four percent said they taught students about abortion or homosexuality and sexual orientation, that is, being gay, lesbian or bisexual, respectively. Again, something parents said they wanted public school sex education curriculum to cover.

The report said that based on those who said birth control was not covered, 13% said it was because they felt pressured by the community and parents not to teach it, 51% said it was because it was the school or district policy not to teach it, 5% because the educator personally felt it should not be taught, 4% because there wasn't enough time, 15% because the topic was covered in a previous grade or would be covered in a later grade, 2% because it was not part of the curriculum, and 3% because it was an abstinence-only curriculum.

Based on those who said how to talk with a partner about birth control and STDS was not covered, 9% said because they felt pressure from the community and parents not to teach it, 27% because of school or district policy not to teach it, 4% because the educator personally felt this shouldn't be taught, 18% because there wasn't enough time, 21% because the topic was covered in an earlier grade or will be covered in a later grade, 5% because it wasn't part of the curriculum, 2% because the class curriculum was abstinence-only, and 1% refused to answer.

Based on those who said how to talk to parents about sex and relationship issues wasn't covered, 7% said because they felt pressured by the community and parents not to teach it, 6% because the educator personally felt it was wrong to teach it, 11% said it was school or district policy not to teach it, 5% because it was not part of the curriculum, 10% because it was covered in an earlier grade or will be covered in a later grade, and 36% said it was because there wasn't enough time in the curriculum.

Based on those who said how to use condoms was not covered, 16% said it was because they felt pressured by the community and parents not to teach it, 47% because it was school or district policy not to teach it, 9% because the educator personally felt it was wrong to teach it, 5% because there wasn't enough time in the curriculum, 11% because the topic was covered in a previous grade or will be covered in a later grade, and 3% because it was not part of the curriculum. Based on those who said how to use and where to get other birth control, 13% said it was because they felt pressured by the community and parents not to teach it and 47% said it was school or district policy not to teach it, 8% said it was because the educator personally felt it should not be taught, 7% because there wasn't enough time, 13% because the topic was covered in a previous grade or will be covered in a later grade, 4% because it was not part of the curriculum, and 1% because the curriculum was abstinence-only curriculum.

Based on those who said how to get tested for HIV/AIDS and other STDS was not covered, 6% said it was because they felt

pressure by the community and parents not to teach it, 4% because the educator personally felt it shouldn't be taught, 23% said it was school or district policy not to teach it, 22% said it was because there wasn't enough time, 22% said because the topic was covered in a previous grade or would be covered in a later grade, and 5% because it wasn't part of the curriculum.

Based on those who said abortion was not covered, 20% said it was because they felt pressure by the community and parents not to teach it, 40% said it was the school or district policy not to teach it, 12% said it was because they personally felt this shouldn't be taught and only 9% said it was because there wasn't time in the curriculum.

Based on those who said homosexuality and sexual orientation was not covered, 30% said it was because they felt pressured by the community and parents not to teach it, 37% said it was school or district policy not to teach it, 5% said it was because they personally felt it shouldn't be taught, and 39% said it was because there wasn't enough time in the curriculum.

"Moreover, only 50% of educators felt that enough classroom time was
spent in their school to properly cover sex education and 47% said too little
time was spent in their school to properly cover sex education."

Based on those who said what to do if a student or friend had been raped or sexually assaulted was not covered, only 3% reported it was because they felt pressured by the community and parents not to teach it, 5% because the educator personally felt it shouldn't be taught, 15% because it was covered in a previous grade or will be covered in a later grade, 4% because it wasn't part of the curriculum, and 12% said it was school or district policy not to teach it while 39% said it was because there wasn't enough time in the curriculum.

Moreover, only 50% of educators felt that enough classroom time was spent in their school to properly cover sex education and 47% said too little time was spent in their school to properly cover sex education. Only 1% said too much time was spent on sex education in their school.

Regarding the material teachers reported using, 54% said they used standard material provided by the school district while 44% said they used their own material. Asked how

strictly they were required to follow their schools curriculum, 23% said they could teach pretty much what they wanted, 48% said there were some guidelines and 29% said there were strict guidelines they were required to follow.

Teachers were asked whether over the last couple of years there had been discussion or debate in the PTA, school board, or at any public meeting about: whether or not to teach sex education at all. Of those saying yes - 19% said it was about whether to teach sex education at all, 29% said it was about what topics to teach such as birth control or sexual orientation, 33% said it was about teaching abstinence-only, 15% said it was about whether sex education class should be single-sex or coed, and 33% said it was about how parents give permission for their children to take or be taken out of sex education. And 71% said such discussions were very or somewhat calm. Only 28% said those discussions resulted in any changes in the sex education curriculum while 67% said no.

Regarding Principals the Kaiser report said, ".70% of principals said they weren't required to share their teacher's sex education lesson plans with
the superintendent of schools or other school administrators."

Of those 28% who said yes changes were made, 21% said other information was taught before and now only abstinence is taught, 16% said topics once taught are now not taught, 13% said topics once not taught are now being taught, 9% said abstinence-only was taught before, but now other information is taught as well, 65% said sending a letter to parents for participation was the change that occurred and 6% said more time being devoted to sex education than before was the result.

Ninety-two percent of teachers' thought all aspects of sex education including birth control and safer sex should be taught in grades 9-12 and 65% said the same of 7-8th grade.

Ninety-percent of teachers feel students should be given information in school and they believe it does not encourage teens to have sex.

Regarding principals:

When asked how strictly does your school need to follow local or state guidelines, 13% said teachers in their school can teach pretty much what they want, 42% said there are some guidelines, and 43% said there were strict guidelines.

When asked about the influences upon what they teach in sex education classes, eight percent said it was because of the federal government's abstinence-only funds, 27% said it was because of their state government, while 57% said it was because of influence by their local government or school district.

When asked how much influence they had over what teachers in their school teach in sex education compared to other subjects like Math and English, eight percent of principals said that their teachers teach pretty much what they want, while 50% said there were some guidelines and 42% said their were strict guidelines about what their teachers could teach in their sex education classes.

Seventy-four percent said their sex education teachers used standard material or material provided by the school district while 24% said their sex education teachers choose their own materials. And 70% of principals said they weren't required to share their teachers' sex education lesson plans with the superintendent of schools or other school administrators. Seventy-nine percent of principals were very confident that their teachers adhere to the guidelines while 19% were somewhat confident and 1% refused to comment.

When asked whether if in their opinion the sex education curriculum at their school reflects what most of the parents in their school district think should be taught to students - many of the parents - some of the parents - or only a few of the parents, 48% of principals reported most, 30% said many and 6% said some. Fifty-four percent of principals said they had participated in deciding what topics their school's sex education curriculum covered while 46% said no.

In conclusion, the false statement the Alpha Center made in #8 of their Sexual Health Knowledge Pre-Test game, that abstinence-

only sex education program participants are not as likely to engage in sexual activity as students who have received 'safe-sex' education (instruction in how to use condoms, etc.), is deliberately and dangerously deceptive and absolutely untrue on its face. It is a self-serving statement used to bolster an anti-contraceptive abstinence-only until marriage agenda.

Moreover, in addition to the documented success of some abstinence-based comprehensive sex education programs I presented in this report, the above recent study confirms that both parents, their teenagers, teachers and principals alike, are not only in agreement that a comprehensive or safe-sex approach is the most appropriate and the most desired, parents and their teens agree that more information, not less is also appropriate and desired. Also more class time not less should be spent on a comprehensive sex education curriculum including more time helping parents and their teens learn how to communicate about sex and more time helping teens learn how to communicate with their boyfriends/girlfriends about sex, birth control and STDS.

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