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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