Texas High School With No Sex Education Program Sees Chlamydia Outbreak

A Texas high school practically welcomed a chlamydia outbreak with open arms by ignorantly assuming their student body, if not taught about sex, will not engage in sexual activity.

Letters went home to parents in the Crane Independent School District after three chlamydia cases were reported within two weeks. According to the letter, a neighboring county is also being affected and the numbers are significant.

The District’s student handbook can be found online where their standards on human sexuality classes, if they are ever offered, are detailed.

As a parent, you are entitled to review the curriculum materials. In addition, you may remove your child from any part of the human sexuality instruction with no academic, disciplinary, or other penalties.

But what if not all students opt out? If teens find out what that fleshy puzzle piece between their legs is for, they might try fitting it into places. Well, the notoriously conservative state of Texas has a safety net in place to assure there will be no state-sanctioned penetration.

State law requires that any instruction related to human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, or human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome must:

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Devote more attention to abstinence from sexual activity than to any other behavior

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Direct adolescents to a standard of behavior in which abstinence from sexual activity before marriage is the most effective way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

While it is true that abstinence is the only 100% effective way to prevent STDs and pregnancy, it’s also proven that denial of the sexuality of teenagers and preaching abstinence does not work. (I’m looking at you, Texas, with your top 3 ranking position of 73 teen births per 1,000 women age 15-19.)

(Image via ZEISS Microscopy on Flickr)