Education Law

New Report on STDs and Teens

By Charles Fox

A recent report finds that  many students who claim to abstinent from sexual activity are testing positive for STDs. While the report focuses on teenaged students generally it further highlights students with special needs who are especially vulnerable for a variety of reasons.  For many students that I represent there are particular issues of impulsive behaviors, lower self-esteem making them vulnerable to peer pressure, and lack of a meaningful curriculum that applies to them.

I was recently at an IEP meeting where the teacher actually modified the curriculum and adopted curriculum for her self contained class of students with a diagnostic report at the end of the unit.  The teacher is young and enthusiastic about teaching but most importantly she had the support of her special education director and superintendent. Without this leadership she would not have had the leeway to take such an innovative approach to her teaching.  Hopefully this new report will put even more emphasis on appropriate teaching to keep all students safe and especially those who are most vulnerable, students with special needs.

Full post as published by Special Education Law Blog on February 14, 2011 (boomark / email).