Realities of life

Trusted professionals should be enlisted to provide sex education in Texas schools.

With an unwavering stand against requiring schools to teach sex education, the Texas Legislature continues to ignore basic human nature. Among U.S. high school students surveyed in 2015, 41 percent reported they had had sexual intercourse, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Texas, that number represents tens of thousands of sexually active teens.

Under state law, school districts are not required to teach health or sex education but if they do, they must emphasize abstinence. As a result, more than four-fifths of Texas school districts offer no sex education at all or teach only abstinence, according to a new study by Texas Freedom Network, a watchdog education nonprofit.

No question that abstinence is the surest way to avoid unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. But not all students are going to follow that advice. Sex education classes have been shown to help delay the initiation of sexual activities, reduce the number of partners and increase the use of contraception, all of which aid in preventing teen pregnancy, according to the centers.

This session, state Rep. Mary González, D-Clint, has filed a bill to require medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education classes in Texas schools. The bill would allow students to be excused from the course with the written request of a parent or guardian (“Legislation aims to improve sex education” Page A1, Feb. 15). “If you’re truly for limiting abortions, then here’s one way to do it,” González told the Associated Press.

But the many school districts in this state that teach abstinence-only or nothing at all shouldn’t wait for the passage of legislation. These districts should follow the lead of Houston Independent School District.

As the Texas Freedom Network study points out, HISD emphasizes abstinence but also provides solid information about the realities of life. It requires a health class for graduation, even though the state stopped requiring the class in 2009. In addition, along with programs and textbooks, the district brings in presenters from organizations based in Houston to help educate their students.

Statistics confirm that ignorance has not led to bliss in Texas. The state’s teen birth rate is one of the highest in the nation. Nearly 600 girls under the age of 15, and 14,057 teens between the ages of 15 and 17, gave birth in 2011, according to the Office of Adolescent Health, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Teen pregnancy has profound implications for both partners, their families and communities. By age 22, only around 50 percent of teen mothers have received a high school diploma and only 30 percent have earned a GED, whereas 90 percent of women who did not give birth during adolescence receive a high school diploma, according to the U.S. government website, youth.gov. In addition, teen fathers have a 25 to 30 percent lower probability of graduating from high school than teenage boys who are not fathers.

The ramifications of teen pregnancies continue onto the next generation. Children who are born to teen mothers also experience a wide range of problems. They are more likely to have a higher risk for low birth weight and infant mortality; have lower school achievement and drop out of high school; give birth as a teen; and be unemployed or underemployed as a young adult, according to youth.gov.

Some people oppose sex education, arguing that it encourages teens to have sex. But, think about it. Today’s teens have access to sexual imagery. Many are able to view pornography on smartphones or on televisions. Yet, the information that young people glean through friends, movies and online is often inaccurate.

Trusted professionals should be enlisted to provide good information to students. Studies have shown that STD prevention programs do not hasten initiation of sexual intercourse among adolescents, even when the curricula encouraged sexually active young people to use condoms, according to the CDC. It’s the 21st century. Lawmakers let young people down when they shroud contraception in a conspiracy of silence.

Statistics confirm that ignorance has not led to bliss in Texas. The state’s teen birth rate is one of the highest in the nation.