Despite a
statewide push for abstinence-only education in Texas by
Republican officials and lawmakers, a survey of parents in
the San Antonio area shows that they want their
children's school sex education classes to
include instruction on condom use, the San Antonio
Express-News reports. The survey of 126 parents of
middle- and high-school students in low-income and rural
areas of Bexar County showed that 80% say instruction on
condoms and birth control should be offered in
schools, beginning in middle-school grades, alongside
abstinence instruction. Only 13% of the parents
surveyed supported abstinence-only sex-ed programs.
"What we found is
the vast majority of parents really want us to include
positive information about contraceptives and condoms," lead
author Janet Realini, told the Express-News.
The Texas
Education Code requires all state schools make abstinence
the core of their sex-education programs, but
individual districts are permitted to teach about
condoms and birth control if they choose to. Most do
not, but San Antonio's three largest school districts
are among the few that do provide students with condom
information, health officials say. (The
Advocate)