Orange County Public Schools has scrapped its old sex education plans and is now planning on using a 600-page document centering around abstinence. This initiative is led by Governor Ron DeSantis, scaling back on sex education relating to contraceptives, abuse, and sexual activity. This change channels the pushback on sex education from conservative politicians across the nation, who are also supporting Christian ideals to be taught in schools. With these new changes, the Florida Department of Education has to sign off on any sex education curriculum if they are not using the designated textbook.
The state of Florida currently reports more HIV cases than any other state, so limiting the youth of Florida’s knowledge on proper sex education is clearly not curbing the surge in STDs. Enforcing a sex education plan based around abstinence will not decrease the amount of people engaging in those activities, it simply raises the consequences of them. For example, teen pregnancy rates will rise coupled with the statewide abortion bans. There are still 1 in 4 teens younger than 20, who are pregnant at least once. Research on sex education shows that a comprehensive plan makes teenagers more likely to wait before having sex for the first time.
A Florida Department of Education spokesperson declared that schools are supposed to teach kids that “reproductive roles” are “binary, stable, and unchangeable.” This traditionalist view has been proven ineffective and reflects the self-interest of those advocating for it who are pushing their own agenda. “A state government should not be emphasizing or encouraging sexual activity among children or minors and is therefore right to emphasize abstinence,” said Communications Director, Sydney Booker. Educating students about the existence of sex and contraceptive methods does not encourage sexual activity, it is a dangerous notion to believe otherwise.
