Sex Education Stagnating in U.S. Schools, CDC Says.
Public schools in the United States are making "little progress" in expanding instruction in how to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, a new federal study concluded.
Between 2008 and 2010, the percentage of public schools teaching key topics on prevention did not increase in the 45 states surveyed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
In middle schools, 11 states saw declines during the two-year period and no state saw an increase, the CDC said. The level of instruction was stable in high schools. . .
The push for higher test scores in recent years could mean that schools are less likely to expand health education, Monica Rodriguez, president and chief executive of the nonprofit group, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, told Reuters.
Also, the question of how best to teach students about preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases remains a divisive issue in many areas, Rodriguez said.
"For many teachers, it's often about fear, fear of controversy," she said.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/04/05/us/05reuters-usa-education-sex.html?hp