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California sets sex ed guidelines

Posted on Mar 14th 2008 12:00PM by Maggie Vink

Filed Under: Nutrition & Supplements

California's State Board of Education has determined that students as young as fifth grade should learn about sexually transmitted diseases. The decision is timely, as recent reports have stated that as many as one in four teenage girls has an STD. But the decision wasn't rash, the Board of Education has held discussions regarding sex education standards for two years.

The new standards will present important information and teach the skills necessary to practice safe sexual behavior. Abstinence will be included in the curriculum, but California state law prevents abstinence only sexual education. The sex ed classes will be integrated into existing health classes.

What do you think?

Is 5th grade too young to take sex ed and learn about STDs?
Yes	23 (21.7%)
No	83 (78.3%)

Source

4 Comment

Tags: abstinence, sex ed, SexEd, sexual education, SexualEducation, sexually transmitted diseases, SexuallyTransmittedDiseases, STD, STDs

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

tyler 3-14-2008 @ 1:12PM

I think 5th grade is the prime time to REALLY teach prevention. I am 25 years old, and in my school... kids were starting to be sexually active in 6th grade! As shocking as it may sound to older generations it's true, I was there, and with today's over-sexualized media and culture it DOES go on... we need to teach our youth the truths and harms of STDs, before they really start experimenting on their own...

Maggie Vink 3-14-2008 @ 1:16PM

I agree, Tyler. As a parent it's a bit frightening, because there are such a mix of kids at that age -- those that are still innocent to all of that and then there are others that are more (ahem) aware. But, as long as it's handled appropriately, early intervention is best in my opinion. It's important for parents to do their part, too.

Andrea 3-14-2008 @ 5:11PM

I am also 25, and I can also attest to the fact that kids in my school were having sex in 6th grade. A few were having sex in 5th grade.
Sex ed needs to be taught AT LEAST as early as 5th grade, but not only because many of them are either havings sex or will be in a year or two, but also because of the extremely high rate of sexual abuse. A lot of young children are abused by parents or other family members, neighbors, or family friends, etc. Many of them may not know that this is wrong. I think that having a class where this sort of thing is discussed could lead a lot of this being uncovered or possibly even prevented. The value of that would be immeasurable.

Stephanie 3-15-2008 @ 10:37AM

I think it's wonderful that they're teaching sex ed. in 5th grade. I'm only 20, but my first REAL sex ed. class was in 6th grade - a class they labeled as "Health", but also included sexual education. It's so important that preteens learn as much as they can - they are beyond interested and want to know, but are embarrassed to ask, and as such, make so many wrong assumptions. They should have a parent, or sexual education teacher!, who is unafraid to be asked blunt questions and give blunt answers.

But it shouldn't be completely up to the schools - parents need to be aware of their children, and talk to them on a regular basis. I think when a child is around 10, that's when sex may start to creep up, and when a parent should start guiding them in the right direction :)