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January 30, 2008Two-Thirds of Illinois Public Schools Provide Comprehensive Sex Education |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A study of sex education in Illinois public schools found that one out of three teachers did not meet a very forgiving definition of comprehensive instruction, researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center report in the February 2008 issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. Only 65 percent of teachers who responded to the survey covered the four basic topics required to be rated "comprehensive:" abstinence until marriage or older, HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, and contraception. When the researchers added a widely recommended fifth topic--where to get condoms, birth control and health related services---only 42 percent of sex education teachers passed the comprehensiveness test. The survey also found that 30 percent of the State's sex-education teachers had never received sex-education training, well above the national average of 18 percent. Although most teachers with training reported that they felt, "very comfortable" teaching adolescents about sex, only 56 percent of those who lacked such training said they felt as comfortable. "Our children learn many of the skills they need to be healthy citizens and to take responsibility for their own health in school," she said. "Working with college students, I have witnessed this firsthand. The most frequently taught topics, covered by 96 percent of teachers, were HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Only 32 percent of teachers brought up homosexuality or sexual orientation, 34 percent taught how to use condoms, 37 percent taught how to use other forms of birth control, 39 percent discussed abortion and 47 percent taught students where to access contraception and sexual-health services.
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