Sex ed, politics, inertia

The problem with abstinence education isn't that it doesn't work, it's that it's vastly underfunded, says a new report from the conservative Heritage Foundation. Which reminds us: What happened to the Democrats' comprehensive sex-ed bill?

As predicted, given a Republican-dominated Legislature, not much. The Senate version managed to squeak through the education committee April 1, but has been stalled ever since in Children, Families and Elder Affairs, chaired by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico. The House version, meanwhile, was referred to two committees in early March and from there, nothing.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Throwing fuel on the fire

As if the issue of evolution hasn't been controversial enough in Florida, two state senators have moved to fan the flames by proposing a sex ed amendment to the "academic freedom" bill that's scheduled for second reading on the Senate floor today.

Riffing off the question of why some lawmakers have singled out evolution for special treatment in law, senators Ted Deutch (left) and Nan Rich have pitched the concept that teachers who instruct the equally contentious subject of sex education might deserve similar protection as those who raise questions about the origin of species.

Their amendment states, in part:

A public school teacher in the state's K-12 school system may not be disciplined, denied tenure, terminated, or otherwise discriminated against for objectively presenting scientific information relevant to the full range of scientific views regarding biological or chemical evolution and comprehensive sexual education that is age-appropriate and factual in connection with teaching any prescribed curriculum regarding chemical or biological evolution and any prescribed abstinence-only curriculum regarding human sexuality, respectively.

Deutch's own bill requiring schools to teach medically accurate, factual and age-appropriate sex education curriculum has shown no sign of life in committees. So why not try to attach the concept, which Republicans seem to dislike, onto the evolution bill that so many Democrats disdain, right? (Deutch was the lone nay vote on the evolution bill when it passed the Senate Education committee.)

The poison pill is not likely to win adoption. But it's entertaining to note. UPDATE: The amendment failed on voice vote.

UPDATE 2: After some spirited debate, the highlight of which was sponsor Sen. Ronda Storms answering in several ways except "yes" or "no" to the question whether Intelligent Design could be taught under her bill, the legislation was moved ahead for its third and final reading.

Sex ed, stats, polls and politics

Democratic lawmakers probably see the press conference they're holding in Tallahassee tomorrow as a way to jump-start support for comprehensive sex education. We at The Gradebook see an opportunity to shamelessly promote a recent and relevant St. Petersburg Times education poll, and to throw in a recent and relevant federal study for context.

Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, and Rep. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, D-Miami, will be joined by Planned Parenthood supporters, according to a press release sent out this afternoon. Under the bills they filed, the state would emphasize abstinence in school but also teach kids how to protect themselves from disease and pregnancy. Joining Deutch and Bendross-Mindingall will be two other lawmakers backing a separate bill, the Prevention First Act, which would expand access to birth control and provide emergency contraception to rape victims.

The Times poll, conducted last month and reported on in this story here, found the vast majority of Floridians - including most evangelical Christians - want schools to teach a sex-ed curriculum that goes beyond abstinence. The findings stand in contrast to the state's official position on sex ed, which is to stress abstinence.

The study, released by the Centers for Disease Control last week, found that one in four teenage girls aged 14 to 19 nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease. The rate for black girls in that age group: Nearly half.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Activist to schools: Stop promoting sex

Never mind that a St. Petersburg Times survey showed about two-thirds of voters interviewed support teaching "abstinence plus" sex education in schools. Brandon activist Terry Kemple, president of a local Christian public policy group called Community Issues Council, wants the schools to stop at abstinence only. He intends to fight pending legislation that would expand the sex education curriculum "if it looks like it's going to get legs." And he's even advocating abstinence-only education in colleges and universities. Reporter Donna Winchester caught up with Kemple in her reporting on the issue and had this conversation with him:

What is your role with the Community Issues Council?

What I do is I advocate for Christian values in the community.

And how does that play out in the arena of sex education in public schools?

One of the things that's mentioned most frequently in the Bible is sexual immorality and how we are supposed to refrain from it. Much of the education that our kids get today in school would lead them in exactly the opposite direction. It actually encourages them to become sexually involved at earlier and earlier ages. It's bad for kids and it's bad for our society.

I'm old enough to remember when we weren't encouraged to have sex in school, and we didn't have sex. Certainly there were some who did, but compared to what's happening in the schools today, it's like a marble and a mountain.

Do we teach kids that they're basically animals who can't control their sexual urges, so go ahead and have sex, and oh by the way, be sure to use a condom? Or do we tell them they are actually rational human beings who can avoid early sexual activity? Let's teach them the coping skills to be able to effectively do that.

So are you saying that schools are encouraging kids to have sex?

More on the sex ed poll

So now you know that the vast majority (86 percent) of Floridians surveyed think sex education belongs in the schools. More than that, three in four think the curriculum should go beyond simple abstinence information.

But did you know that more than half believe the lessons should begin in middle school? Or that fully one-third say the classes should start in elementary school?

That's the kind of detail you get when you look at all the poll results. Which aren't in the story. But they're here. Enjoy. (Click on the graphic to see it at full size.)

The skinny on sex ed

Are Florida schools providing good, solid, comprehensive sex education? Not even close, concludes a University of Florida study published last fall in the American Journal of Sexuality Education.

"There seems to be no standards guiding sex education in Florida," Brian Dodge, a former UF professor who led the study (he's now at Indiana University), told The Gradebook. "It's pretty much anything goes."

The study is worth a look in light of legislation filed this week by two state lawmakers, Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, and Rep. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, D-Miami (see the St . Petersburg Times story on that here.) Dodge was at the Tallahassee press conference with the lawmakers, who are probably facing an uphill climb given a Republican-dominated Legislature and an issue that couldn't be more hot-button.

Just because it doesn't gain traction in Tally, though, doesn't mean it's not an issue. Here's how the study summed things up: "Even though the vast majority of teachers (87%) acknowledged that sexuality education, in some form, took place in their schools, it was most often afforded little time, occurred late in the students' academic career, had little to no uniformity in terms of what was taught and who was teaching it, had no standards in terms of training or quality assurance, was not accessible to all students, and may not adequately address their realistic needs of students."

Oh boy. To see the full report, click here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter (Image, Time magazine)

First Darwin, now condoms

As if debating evolution wasn't culture-war enough, two South Florida lawmakers are announcing bills today that would require more comprehensive sex education in Florida schools. Translation: Teaching abstinence isn't enough. Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, and Rep. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, D-Miami, say the Healthy Teens Act is a "common sense bill" that would give teens info about abstinence - and about ways to protect themselves from disease and pregnancy.

If a recent debate in St. Lucie County is any indication, this could get real ugly, real fast. When board members there were considering whether to adopt a more comprehensive curriculum called Get Real About AIDS - which teaches students about condoms - a local pastor threatened to post fliers with their faces next to descriptions of sex acts. One board member found her face on a flier that included her address, the type of car she drives and a request that people pray for her. Meanwhile, critics pushed to fire the superintendent (see story here.)

Deutch's bill notes that Florida has the sixth-highest teen-pregnancy rate in the country, and the second-highest rate of AIDS cases. University of Florida researchers also noted some dire stats in November, when they released a study that found sex ed programs in Florida vary widely in content. Deutch's bill says beginning in sixth grade, Florida schools will offer information that "emphasizes the value of abstinence while not ignoring those adolescents who have had sexual intercourse and who thereafter may or may not remain sexually active."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Today's news

DEALING WITH REALITY: The rules say that students must keep their cell phones off and out of sight during classes. Like that happens. Really, kids - especially teens - text whenever they can. Pinellas school officials know that, and they're considering an "acceptable use" policy instead. Interesting that on the east coast, Palm Beach County is looking at an all-out ban because of cyber-bullying concerns. Wonder who's right.

ELECTED COMMISSIONER DEBATE: The Senate vote to put the education commissioner back in the Cabinet and on the ballot crossed party lines, with "accountability" the key phrase being tossed about. But some refused to join in, saying the voters decided in 1998 they didn't want to vote anymore.

UF FEE STALLS: Senate Higher Ed chair Evelyn Lynn says the effort to charge students $500 per semester doesn't have enough support. Even supporters acknowledge it's "time to move on."

MEETING PEN PALS: For months, the Pasco Middle students had used e-mail to share thoughts on culture, school and family with students in Nanjing, China. They finally met face-to-face, thanks to Internet teleconferencing, on Friday. "It brought passion to the classroom," effused assistant principal Laurie Johnson.

GIFTED FUNDING: Florida lawmakers made the right call by asking for a review of how money for gifted education gets spent, the Herald-Tribune editorializes. Here's the Charlotte Sun-Herald's take on how the shift took place.

NOT DEAD YET: A Jacksonville-area House member plans one last maneuver to give schools the flexibility to start classes earlier than two weeks before Labor Day, the Florida Times-Union reports. A colleague on the Senate side supports the move, saying "the academic achievement of our students is our highest priority, not tourism."

SUPERINTENDENT FIRED: The Department of Juvenile Justice has dismissed the acting superintendent of the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna amid an investigation into the abuse of a youth, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

ABSTINENCE CLASSES DON'T MATTER: A national report finds that kids who took abstinence-only sex education classes still had sex at the same age, on average, as kids who didn't the Associated Press reports.