Dallas ISD sex ed curriculum gets it wrong | Opinion
Emily Martin speaks in support of a new sex ed lesson plan during a Dallas ISD school board meeting on Thursday, May 26, 2022, at Turney W. Leonard Governance and Training Center in Dallas.The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees adopted new curriculum for reproductive and sexual health May 26. Their vote followed the recommendations of the district’s School Health Advisory Council, which is legally tasked with reviewing curriculum and ensuring “local community values” are reflected.
Those who rally for so-called comprehensive sex education often point to Dallas’ “astronomical” pregnancy rates. According to the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, the birth rate for Dallas County in 1995 was 92.40 . By 2020, that number had dropped to 26.33. Of those, 69% were older teens aged 18-19. The Centers for Disease Control reports that 36.2% of Texas high school students are sexually active, a number that has fallen 19% since 2001.
Somehow those who oppose this abstinence focus have purported the idea that this approach withholds important information from students. Giving students medically accurate information about the “effectiveness and the risks and failure rates of barrier protection and other contraceptive methods in the prevention of STDs/STIs and pregnancy” helps them make informed decisions. Unfortunately, the new curriculum gives medically inaccurate and incomplete information about both STDs and pregnancy.
Consider the difference between reducing risk and avoiding risk. The laws in Texas require that we teach students to avoid sexual activity and its associated risks. DISD’s new curriculum teaches risk reduction, without disclosing how limited the reduction may or may not be. The argument is always made that many kids will still have sex. With the new TEKS, these students will accurately learn their options for contraception and the importance of regular testing and treatment for STDs.
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