WASHINGTON — Only 39 percent of Alaskan public high schools provide students with information about condom use, which might explain why Levi Johnston’s latest girlfriend is unexpectedly pregnant.
In a report released Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention crunched numbers from 2008 to 2010 on the percentage of public middle and high schools in 45 states that require comprehensive sexual education programs for students. The resulting report found that very few public schools have made progress in this area, with many American adolescents learning less about ways to avoid pregnancy and contracting sexually transmitted diseases than in previous years.
Eleven states reported a drop in teaching of all 11 topics in middle schools. For the eight high school topics, the percentages didn’t budge much from the previous report two years ago.
According to the report, 46 percent of American high school students are sexually active. The CDC recommends comprehensive sex education programs that minimize the risks of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases that go hand-in-hand with sexual activity.
“Previous data show that despite progress in reducing adolescent sexual risk behaviors over time, risk among this population remains far too high and may be plateauing,” said CDC spokeswoman Jennifer Horvath.
The CDC compiles these School Health Profiles every two years by asking principals and health education teachers to report whether their curricula include coverage of a range of “essential topics,” of which there are eight for high schools and 11 for middle schools.
These topics include: ”How to access valid and reliable health information, products, and services,” “communication and negotiation skills” and “influences of media, family and social and cultural norms on sexual behavior.”
“Although the exact recommended topics differ for middle and high schools, they generally include basic information on transmission and diagnosis, communication and decision-making skills, and for high school students, condom use,” Horvath said.
Alaska’s high school curriculum scored a 45 percent overall, the lowest score on the list. Delaware (93 percent), Maryland (92 percent) and New York (92 percent) were the top three, but blue states weren’t the only ones to earn As. Kentucky and West Virginia scored 90 and 91 percent, respectively.
Only Nevada and Delaware showed any significant improvement in their high school programs. Because survey responses are voluntary, states that do not consistently return their surveys from year to year are not included in the study. This year, those states were Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico and Illinois.
“Previous data show that despite progress in reducing adolescent sexual risk behaviors over time, risk among this population remains far too high and may be plateauing,” Horvath said.
Though sexual education programs are created and regulated by state education departments, the federal government provides some funding.
The Bush administration held a strict policy of funding only programs that focused on abstinence as a sex education program. However, in 2010, Congress eliminated two abstinence-only funding programs and created two new ones to promote a comprehensive curriculum.