After months of community debate, Florida’s St. Lucie County School Board approved on Tuesday, December 11, a new sex-education curriculum that will teach students about condoms, reports the Palm Beach Post (palmbeachpost.com, 12/12).
The board voted 4-1 in favor of the Get Real About AIDS program, which will be used to educate children in the fourth through 12th grades.
For months, supporters of the new curriculum have petitioned board members to adopt the change, which was recommended by Superintendent Michael Lannon. They cited the district’s high HIV rate in its black community as one reason that its abstinence-only policy is failing. According to health department statistics, St. Lucie County has Florida’s highest rate of HIV and AIDS among black residents, reports the Palm Beach Post.
Opponents of the curriculum say that teaching children about condoms will encourage them to have sex.
Superintendent Lannon, who has faced personal attacks and a call for his resignation leading up to the vote, was pleased with the outcome. “The work continues,” he said.
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david, middleboro, 2007-12-14 15:32:35
Hi there i'm planing to move to florida in a year or so,Do you know of any links that would help health care houseing i'm on disability i would appreacate it
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
