"Richmond and Columbia counties have opted for abstinence-only curriculum." Both counties are failing their students miserably, and it's a terrible shame.
The solution to rising birth rates among teens can be found at home with their parents and at school with a more comprehensive sex education curriculum, participants at a conference on teen pregnancy said Wednesday.
The key to decreasing the teen birth rate in Georgia, which is the 10th highest in the nation, is investing in what has been proven effective, and that's parental involvement and education, according to Kim Nolte, the vice president of programs and training of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.
Parents need to be involved in their children's lives and should be the primary source of sex education as a conversation throughout life, not a "talk."
When parents are unable to fill that role, "that's when we need to provide safety nets," she said.
Schools are a good place for this, she said.
Programs proven effective are those that focus on abstinence, but also give comprehensive sex education for if and when teens decide to have sex.
The state instructional requirements include discussion of peer pressure, self- esteem, values, legal consequences, "abstinence from sexual activity as an effective method of prevention of pregnancy, sexual- ly transmitted diseases and acquired immune deficiency syndrome," but local school board sex education committees determine curriculum.
Richmond and Columbia counties have opted for abstinence-only curriculum.
Reach Sarah Day Owen at (706) 823-3223 or sarah.owen@augustachronicle.com.
Learn more
Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention started a Web site Wednesday. Visit gpower2009.org to connect with other organizations related to teen pregnancy.
What's next?
A bill, H.R. 1551, which would fund comprehensive sex education in schools and communities, has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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