Announced in August 2011, New York City has mandated lessons on sexual health and sex education starting today. Public middle schools and high schools are now required to introduce sex education lessons into health classes.

At least one semester of health education is required in 6th or 7th grade and then again in 9th or 10th grade. Previously, the health classes did not include sex education. This has now changed.

What will be taught includes physiology, the understanding of male and female reproductive systems, recognizing healthy and unhealthy relationships, sexuality and sexual identity, handling unwanted sexual advantages, contraception methods, and how to prevent unwanted STD’s.

The NYC Department of education has implemented a “research-based sex risk reduction curriculum” called “Reducing the Risk”. Research has shown that this helps to increase the use of contraception among teens and increase parent-child communication about contraception. It emphasizes that students should use protection consistently and correctly when they become sexually active.

Students learn to avoid high risk situations and recognize healthy and unhealthy relationships by role-playing situations on resisting pressure to have sex. This has proven to have direct results of safe sex behavior.

The sex education mandate takes effect today in NYC high schools and middle schools.

ONE® Condoms supports sex positive decision making and increased condom use to eliminate the spread of diseases. A portion of every ONE® Condoms sale goes towards HIV/AIDS prevention efforts at home and abroad.

What do you think of NYC’s new mandate on sex education?

In spirit of National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness day we decided to give you a statistic run down on the American HIV/AIDS landscape today.

1. Approximately 1.2 Million Americans are living with HIV.
2. Gay and bisexual men make up nearly half of that population; around 580,000.
3. 1 in 5 HIV positive men ,who have sex with men, don’t know their status,
4. Gay and bisexual men account for nearly 53% of all new HIV infections in the U.S. annually.
5. As low as 50% and possibly up to 75% of new infections come from people who don’t know they are infected themselves.

ONE Condoms urges you today to get tested, get educated, and spread the word about the urgency of this epidemic. Click here to find non-profit clinics, outreach organizations, and medical professionals that can help with your sexual health. ONE donates a portion of every sale to HIV/AIDS eduction and prevention efforts at home and abroad.

Boston social conservatives and lawmakers debated on Tuesday whether or not requiring parents to opt their children out of state legislated sexual education courses infringes on parental rights. Also on the agenda was the topic of mandatory sex education and its policies of a parental opt-in or opt-out system.

There are two schools of thinking in regards to the opt-in vs. opt-out system. Some think that having to opt out of the program isn’t enough because if parents aren’t actively engaged in their child’s education, then parents won’t be aware of the curriculum being presented. On the other side, others believe in a parental opt-in system, which would be more supportive of parents getting involved in their children’s education. This would require parental consent to state mandated programs. Which ever side you’re on most litigators agree, that sex is still being treated as taboo. This hindrance effects the growth and physical developments of kids being able to make healthy choices.

What is lacking now is worthwhile and meaningful sexual education. Curriculums currently teach lessons limited to biology and not healthy decision-making and relationship building. The issue of safe sex education is not “a liberal issue or a conservative issue,” Robin Loconte, a Healthcare official argued. “It’s a health issue.”

The changes to the program that need to be made, according to Sumru Urkut’s a sexual health research scientist, “is medically accurate and age-appropriate information to help students make responsible choices about sexual conduct or whether to abstain from sexual activity altogether.” Without this, misinformation will endanger youths sexual health.

Under this new legislation, school districts could choose whether sex education would be a part of the student body’s curriculum. Those who do choose these programs are

“required to teach the benefits of abstinence and delaying sexual activity; stress the importance of effectively using contraceptives and barrier methods to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS; teach students the skills to effectively negotiate and implement safer sexual activity; help students develop the relationship and communication skills to form healthy, respectful relationships free of violence, coercion, and intimidation and make healthy decisions about relationships and sexuality; and be appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, or sexual orientation.”

ONE Condoms fully supports legislation that assists with integrating “medically accurate” and “age-appropriate” sex education in schools. ONE Condoms donates a portion of every sale to HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts at home and abroad. 

As for the debate at hand, do you think that school districts should allow parents to opt-in or opt-out of these sex education programs for their children?

For the first time in many Texas Public School Districts abstinence only programs are becoming a thing of the past. Across the state, policy makers are starting to change their sex education programs based on the need for a curriculum that works to prevent teenage pregnancies.

In Midland Texas alone, one city that is implementing the Abstinence -Plus system, 172 pregnant girls enrolled in the school system last year, many of whom were as young as 13 and on their second pregnancies. Increasing rates of STI cases and teenage pregnancies have opened the eyes of Texas school boards. They are beginning to see that the abstinence only program approach is ineffective in preventing STI transmission or teenage pregnancies.

The Abstinence -Plus system, developed by Suan Tortolero, the director of the UT Prevention Research Center, emphasizes students to wait to engage in sex, while also teaching them about condoms and other contraception methods. Research shows that teaching proper condom use and birth control actually delays sexual initiation and gives students the correct information to make good decisions and choices regarding their bodies. “The more we demystify it,” Ms. Tortolero said, “the more we talk about it, the better overall.”

Still Today, the vast majority of Texas school districts still choose to teach only abstinence. This is changing slowing however with many counties adopting the abstinence -plus curriculum. The change in programs is due to the severity of the teenage pregnancy problem in Texas, which has the 3rd highest birth rate among 15-19 year olds in the nation. It has become clear that local communities want their students to learn about more than just abstinence.

ONE Condoms supports the spread of proper knowledge for individuals to make the smartest decisions of their sexual health. People need to know how to practice safe sex in order to protect themselves from harmful diseases and unwanted pregnancies. The abstinence -plus system, although it might not be the best sex education solution, is the step in the right direction for the very conservative Texas Education System.

Do you think that this Abstinence - Plus system will be effective in preventing the spread of STIs and reducing the teen pregnancy rate?