Austin News
Lawmakers call for changes to sex education
06:19 PM CDT on Tuesday, March 31, 2009
>A pair of bills at the State Capitol call for changing the way Texas teaches students about sex.
The state leads the nation in spending on abstinence-only education but also leads in the teen birthrate. State representatives Mike Villarreal and Joaquin Castro have filed separate bills to address what they call an "epidemic" of teen pregnancy.
"The cost to society, the cost to the state of Texas is tremendous, and it's time that we do something about it," said Castro.
State law currently requires public schools to present abstinence as "the preferred option" in sex education classes. Often times, it comes with little attention is devoted to contraception. Castro's bill calls for "comprehensive" sex education that teaches contraception and disease prevention. Villarreal's legislation simply outlines that any teaching about contraception must be "scientifically accurate."
"A lot of time that kind of stuff gets skipped over at home, and they need to learn about it somewhere, otherwise these kids are gonna wind up in all sorts of different scenarios that aren't safe for them," said Tracy Lacaille, a mother of four in Round Rock.
Opponents to the bill say abstinence promotion programs are working in Texas, as evidenced by an overall decline in teen pregnancy.
"As long as the parents are happy and the committees are doing their job to work with the communities and the parents of the schools, then as far as I'm concerned, they're doing their job and it's working," said Kyleen Wright, president of the Texans for Life Coalition.
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