Education Law

New report concerning about teens contracting STDs

A new report in the medical journal Pediatrics about the sex habits of teens is very concerning.

More than ten percent of teens who said they were abstinent also tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

The findings suggest that medical professionals should do more than just ask teens about their sexual activity to decide if STD testing is needed.

?Importantly, our findings reveal that if pediatricians and adolescent medicine physicians do not test all young people, there are likely a substantial number of missed cases of STDs that will go undiagnosed, untreated, and spread to future sex partners,? the researchers noted in their report.

Sex education is an important responsibility that begins in the home and is shared by the community, including our public schools. School board members, have a key policy role in ensuring that young people receive accurate, age-appropriate information to help them make responsible decisions.

Check out NSBA?s resource, A School Board Member?s Guide to Sex Education developed in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on January 04, 2011 (boomark / email).