While the new policy has created an uproar in the community, school board officials defended their decision. Dr. Beth Singer, the school superintendent, stated in an interview with Dan Harris on “World News with Diane Sawyer,” that sometimes young children engage in sexual activities and though the policy technically included all students, they have no intention to distribute condoms to young children in elementary school. The governor of Massachusetts even became involved after the controversial legisaltion was brought to his attention. He stated that sex education programs should be “age appropriate.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in its 2009 Youth Behavior Risk Surveillance that nationwide about 6 percent of young people under the age of 13 are having sex. Overall, the prevalence of having had sexual intercourse before age 13 was higher among black (15.2 percent) and Hispanic (6.7 percent) students than white (3.4 percent) students. Given these statistics, would it be justifiable to provide condoms to elementary students who requested them, or is a policy of this nature completely outrageous?
There are both supporters and opponents of this policy, and the board has announced that it will review the program.
At what age is sex education appropriate? And at what point will we stop and comprehensively probe the real issue at hand here — not sex education for elementary students, but the fact that some elementary students are having sex. –constance collins
