ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

Nebraska School Policy Censors Critical Sexuality Education

Restrictive Policy Jeopardizes Health and Lives of American Young People

WASHINGTON, DC (April 10, 2001) Advocates for Youth's President, James Wagoner, today calls on the Nebraska Board of Education to support effective comprehensive sexuality education that provides information about both abstinence and contraception.

"At a time when one-third of all new HIV infections occur in those under the age of 21, American teens deserve medically accurate, realistic information about sex," said Wagoner. "Anything less, in the era of AIDS, runs contrary to medical research and basic common sense."

The Nebraska Board of Education, a school system that stresses abstinence-only-until-marriage education—which censors information about contraception for the prevention of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS - last week rejected an HIV/AIDS prevention program because it included information about condoms.

"If schools are sincere about addressing the sexual health needs of adolescents, they should rely on fact, science and research to guide prevention programs. And in this case, the research is clear - comprehensive sexuality education is the most effective sexuality education for young people because it causes them to delay too-early sexual activity and to use contraception correctly and consistently when they do become sexually active," said Wagoner.

That is why the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Nurses Association, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and more than 100 other medical and professional organizations all support comprehensive sexuality education. In fact, the AMA urges schools to "implement comprehensive, developmentally appropriate sexuality education programs" as part of an overall health education program.

At the same time, there is a growing body of evidence against abstinence-only-until-marriage education. This fall, the Institute of Medicine called on Congress to rescind funding for ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage education. Days later, the Office of National AIDS Policy expressed "grave concern" over these programs.

"Each day, 2,200 teens get pregnant. While we debate teens' right to health information, 48 young people contract HIV each day, " said Wagoner. "Young people do not have the luxury of time. Comprehensive sexuality education is the very foundation of what works in teen pregnancy, HIV and STD prevention, and it should be implemented now."

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Note to Editors and Producers: For more information or to set up an interview with adolescent sexuality experts, please contact Bill Barker at (202) 419-3420.

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