New York state's Healthy Teens Act got passed in Assembly and is headed over to the State Senate. This is where it needs some help, in part because last I heard the NYS Senate has a republican majority. Unless there was some shuffling with the whole Spitzer thing that changed the distribution, because it was only a one-seat majority. Anyhoo.
Basically, the bill establishes funding for New York schools to provide age-appropriate comprehensive sex ed. Right now there isn't a whole lot of money for sex ed in because Spitzer told the federal government to suck it when they offered funding - but only for abstinence programs (see? aside from that little hooker thing, he was actually pretty good), which as we all know, does more harm than good. You know, the idea that we're all dirty, used toothbrushes if we have sex (frayed bristles! fraaaaaaaaayed briiiiiiiistles!).
It's expensive to introduce a new sex ed program, especially a good one where the teachers are trained. So a lot of schools have nothing. This will offer schools the option to apply for funding to hire and train faculty and implement a program.
Family Planning Advocates of New York (whose conference I was at the day the Spitzer thing broke) issued a memo of support for the bill, and sent out forms to send to members of the State Senate in support of the bill.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
SEX! That Wasn't Just To Get Your Attention - This Post Really Is About Sex. Well, Sex Ed At Least
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2 comments:
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey Liza.
I never really got how sex-ed is so expensive (well, especially abstainance only). In high school our gym teacher did an acceptable job of teaching sex-ed for a week. Before that I think it was a public health nurse which yeah, costs money but it was a part of her job and here I've never heard of money being specifically set aside for sex-ed. The teacher is paid, the public health nurse is paid and sex ed is part of their job. It's not like sex-ed requires expensive materials...
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