In Texas, an extremely conservative state, teen birth rate is the third highest in the country, just below the District of Columbia and New Mexico. Students are underprivileged in receiving sex education and often seek further information elsewhere. Unfortunately for many students, the best resources they manage to find are misleading websites or misinformed peers. Whether students oppose or agree on sexual activity views, schools should provide a sexual education course in which students learn alternative, legal contraceptive methods.
Although there is no specific reason why students decide to become sexually active, it is undeniable that one of the main causes that results in teen pregnancy or STDs is inaccurate information. Students do not receive enough accurate information – neither at home nor at school. Texas should provide sex education that, in addition to teaching about abstinence, should also teach about alternative forms of contraceptives. Telling students to not have sex and expecting all of them to comply is unrealistic. Therefore, there should be additional information and resources that students can use as guidance when making difficult decisions. Although the teen pregnancy rate has decreased, a 2012 study from the Centers for Disease and Prevention, announced that approximately 80 percent of teenagers do not have any formal sexual education.
Abstinence-only programs are clearly not effective; otherwise the teen pregnancy rate in Texas would not be among the highest in the nation. There should be additional options for students that are ready to take the next step in their relationships. Of course, there is a difference between providing support and providing contraceptives. Schools should most definitely not provide contraceptives to students, but they shall be willing to provide information about them if students request that information.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to request such a sweeping change and expect it to happen soon. It could be decades before new policies that support better sex education are implemented. Until then, teens will continue to get pregnant; AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases will continue to spread.
Texas curriculum designers should include contraceptives in lessons, and students should request changes to be made in consideration for their own health and well-being.
Read about how students feel about virginity and sex education here: