New York City

Repercussions? Schools fail to offer sex ed required by law as STDs inch upward

Comptroller: Biggest Problems Are Occurring Pre-High School

September 15, 2017 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle
A new report by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer shows that city schools have been failing to provide many students with basic sex education courses. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Comptroller
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An increase in sexually transmitted infections (STI) and disease (STD) among teenagers since 2015 has alarmed at least one public servant, who has conducted a study which finds that city schools are failing to provide basic sex education courses required by state law.

According to NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, the paucity of sex education seems especially acute in middle school, where just over half of students receive their mandated semester of health education.

Some observers say having the comptroller initiate this is appropriate, as correcting it may be another example of “spend a buck now and save a thousand later.” For example, the cost to society of dealing with unwanted pregnancy and related health subsidies might be reduced.

The report also says that health education teachers in charge of sex education classes may not be up to speed. Only 7.6 percent of them received professional development related to sexual health education over the last two years.

 “Most parents expect their schools to be teaching sex ed, and as our report shows, it isn’t happening. We know there are many competing demands for city schools, and many critical areas of growth on which to focus. We did this report to elevate the conversation about a topic that is serious and, I believe, crucial for our students — and we hope to see the needle move in the right direction in the future,” Stringer said in a statement.

Sex education in the city’s high schools appears to be closer to the mark. Department of Education (DOE) spokeswoman Toya Holness told the Brooklyn Eagle that nearly all (99.7 percent) students who graduated in 2016 completed the health requirements, and school staff work to ensure health education is included in students’ schedules.

DOE says it will do more to beef up programs in health and sex education. The agency will be announcing a Sex Education Task Force soon to address ongoing challenges and ensure students get the sex education they need, Holness said on Friday.

“We are committed to providing all students with a comprehensive health education that includes medically accurate and age-appropriate lessons on sexual health,” she told the Brooklyn Eagle.

DOE will be providing school staff with curriculum, resources and trainings to help them provide students with quality health education.

School sex ed statistics

Specifically, Stringer’s report found:

  • Only 57 percent of eighth grade students completed the New York State-mandated requirement of one semester of health taught during the middle school years.
  • Only 7.6 percent of all health instructors participated in any professional development related to sexual health education within the last two years. Across all grades, 45 percent of health teachers are not state certified, and even fewer are city certified.
  •  Of all 6-8th-grade middle schools, 28 percent do not have a teacher assigned to teach health.
  • 88 percent of schools that teach students in grades 6-12 have no licensed health education teachers

The need for sex education remains high, the report says. In New York City among youth ages 13-19, incidents of chlamydia and gonorrhea began to inch up in 2015, the most recent year for which there is city data. Both diseases had been declining since the peak year of 2011.

In addition, 11.4 percent of city teenagers reported experiencing sexual dating violence during the past 12 months, according to a 2015 survey of public high school students in grades 9-12. On average, city teenagers place more than 1,400 calls to the City’s Domestic Violence hotline each month. Both straight and gay students report sexually-related harassment. According to the 2015 National School Climate Survey, 13 percent of LGBTQ students reported being physically assaulted.

And while pregnancy rates among city teens have dropped overall in recent years, they remain elevated in some parts of the city. Teen pregnancy rates in the Bronx, for instance, remain the highest in the state — in 2014, there were 69 pregnancies per 1,000 females age 15-19 years, compared with the citywide rate of 48.1 per 1,000.

The Comptroller’s Office has issued a set of suggestions to improve sex education in city schools, which can be found at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/healthy-relationships-a-plan-for-improving-health-and-sexual-education-in-new-york-city-schools/.

 

 

 

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