Texas should update sex education standards
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by Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
We work to ensure that every Texas teen has access to the information and resources needed to prevent unintended pregnancy.
The following is an open letter sent to the SBOE signed by Texas Medical Association, Texas Pediatric Society, Texas Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, National Association of Social Workers - Texas Chapter, and Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
Texas youth deserve every opportunity to achieve their dreams in life.
As physicians, social workers, youth-serving professionals and advocates for prevention of teen pregnancy, we strongly support the current draft health education standards that members of the State Board of Education will debate next week.
Texas has the ninth-highest rate of teen birth in the nation and the highest rate of repeat teen birth. Additionally, rates of sexually transmitted infections are rising, and preventable health conditions such as cervical cancer are commonplace.
“Our youth need medically accurate information that will help them make healthy choices for their future.”
For the first time in two decades, the SBOE is in the process of revising the minimum curriculum standards for Health Education classes in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, offering a historic opportunity to improve health knowledge for every student.
Over the last year, the Texas Education Agency has convened a series of workgroups made up of experts including health educators, mental health professionals, clinicians, researchers and advocates across the political spectrum. Through that collaborative process, they’ve arrived at a draft of the Health Education TEKS that are substantively supported by major health organizations across the state, including the Texas Medical Association, Texas Pediatric Society, Texas Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, Texas Association of Social Workers - Texas Chapter and Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
Notably, the draft TEKS offer a strong foundation in abstinence while also providing basic information on contraception and prevention of sexually transmitted infections at the middle school level. Health Education is no longer required for high school graduation, meaning many students choose not to enroll in health class, and many districts do not even offer it. However, the Health Education TEKS are delivered at the middle school level. By offering these topics in middle school, we can ensure that all Texas students have the opportunity to access key prevention information. We strongly urge SBOE members to support these consensus standards.
It is our goal to ensure that the Health Education TEKS permit medically accurate, developmentally appropriate classroom instruction. We believe standards that foster critical thinking and real-world applications of health knowledge and skills will best position Texas students for healthy, productive futures.