- May 4, 2024
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It’s been discussed in the past without any changes being made, and now, the topic of sexual education in Flagler Schools is being revisited once more.
Using rising rates of teen pregnancy and a poll about local students’ sexual activity as foundation, Katrina Townsend, director of student services, recommended during a School Board workshop Tuesday that the district change its sexual education curriculum from an abstinence-based model to a comprehensive one.
A comprehensive model would teach students about safe sex practices, birth control options and sexual orientation issues. It could also make condoms available for students in school clinics.
About 70% of students in grades 6 to 12 say they are sexually active, and of those, 40% reported having unprotected sex, saying the main reason that they did not use a condom was because they didn’t have one.
“We approach student issues as a health concern,” Townsend said. “What we’re concerned about right now (is) about students’ choices they make for sexual activity.”
Townsend said a chief need that is not being addressed for students concerns issues of sexuality.
“One of the differences is that in a comprehensive model, you have more discussions about gender issues, including sexual orientation, which I would say, in the last seven years, has really become a part of student life,” Townsend said.
Using national, state and Flagler-specific statistics, Townsend developed a series of questions for School Board members to consider in preparation for a future, more in-depth discussion about sexual education in the county’s schools.
A pool of 2,660 students were surveyed in Flagler County in 2011, about half of them either 13 or 14 years old. Of these students, 67% said they were sexually active, and of those active, 16% said their first sexual experience was before age 10.
Most sexually active students — 86.8% of them — reported having their first sexual experience before age 16.
About three-quarters of students surveyed said they thought schools should give more information about sex and sexual health. According to a survey, 38% of parents in Flagler County felt that grade six was the appropriate time to teach students about “sex and making safer choices.”
That same survey found that 57% of parents felt that condoms should be available to students in school clinics, something Townsend asked School Board members to consider doing.
Townsend also asked the board to consider whether schools should be allowed to teach about birth control and if so, at what age. She also asked whether demonstrations of the proper use of a condom should be allowed in schools.
State statute requires that schools teach a comprehensive model of sexual education that emphasizes abstinence as the only certain way to prevent unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases. However, it gives school districts flexibility in defining what “comprehensive” means. Currently, Flagler schools teach about abstinence and about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.
Her remarks were complemented by a statement from Patrick Johnson, administrator for the Flagler County Health Department.
Last year, the health department tested 253 teens in local schools. All of them tested negative for HIV, but 144 of them tested positive for either chlamydia or gonorrhea. More troubling, Johnson said, is the changes in teen pregnancy rates.
In 2012, the teen pregnancy rate in Florida was 27.2%. In Flagler County, it was 27.8%, a new high after years of an increasing trend in young pregnancies, Johnson said.
Townsend gave School Board members an example of a curriculum that could be adopted, which explains birth control from a medical perspective.
There was no time during the workshop for the School Board to comment. It will continue its discussion at a future meeting.
| Abstinence-based model | Comprehensive model |
|---|---|
| Emphasizes abstinence | Emphasizes abstinence as the only fool-proof method of protection |
| Includes information on non-coital sexual behavior | Addresses sexual development from a medical perspective |
| Instruction on contraception (with focus on how contraception is not the best choice) | Instruction on reproductive health, including contraception choices and disease control |
| Instruction on disease prevention | Instruction on relationships and gender issues (including sexuality) |
