Managing Sex Education Controversy Deep in the Heart of Texas: A Case Study of the North East Independent School District (NEISD) |
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| Authors: | David C Wiley Marina Plesons Venkataram Chandra-Mouli Margarita Ortega |
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| Institution: | 1. Health Advocates, LLC, Mountain City, TX, USA;2. mtncitydoc@gmail.com;4. Department of Reproductive Health and Research/Human Reproduction Programme, World Health Organization, Genevea, Switzerland;5. Health and Nutrition, Foundation Communities, Austin, TX, USA |
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| Abstract: | AbstractComprehensive sexuality education (CSE), one of the key evidence-based strategies in our programmatic toolbox to address adolescent pregnancy and birth rates, remains a politically-charged issue countrywide. Though there is some funding available at the federal level, there are no national policies mandating the provision of sex education; as such, most decision-making occurs at the state or even the local level. Consequently, the provision of sex education and the quality and comprehensiveness of curricula used to do so are highly variable across the country, and are heavily influenced by the level of support or resistance in communities. This paper analyzes the experience of institutionalizing an evidence-based sex education in a large suburban school district in San Antonio, Texas, a socially conservative context. Understanding the politics of sex education is key to developing effective policies and strategies to ensure quality sex education programs are provided in public schools. However, there are no published papers documenting specific experiences with resistance to sex education in local communities in the USA. Given this, the strategies employed by opponents and the response by district officials can be informative for other school settings in the USA and around the world. Abbreviations: AFLA: Adolescent Family Life Act; CHAMPSS: Choosing And Maintaining effective Programs for Sex education in Schools Model; CSE: Comprehensive sexuality education; DTL/RTL: Draw the Line/Respect the Line; HSAE: Human Sexuality and Abstinence Education, the middle school sex education curriculum in NEISD prior to 2008; NEISD: North East Independent School District; SAFA: San Antonio Family Association; SHAC: School health advisory council; STI: Sexually transmitted infection; TEC: Texas Education Code; TPIA: Texas Public Information Act; USA: United States of America; UTHSC: University of Texas Health Science Center |
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| Keywords: | Sexuality education controversy public schools public awareness controversy management parent advisory committees |
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