Beginning in May, middle schools in Florida’s Palm Beach County will provide comprehensive sex education for their sixth-grade students, including lessons on sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancy and contraceptives, the Palm Beach Post reports (palmbeachpost.com, 4/26).

In addition to lessons on abstinence, students will learn how to protect themselves from STIs and unwanted pregnancies if they choose to have sex.

Starting this month, sixth-grade students will learn about condoms and other forms of contraceptives while seventh graders discuss different types of STDs, including HIV. By eighth grade, students must be able to identify contraceptives and how they work, as well as identify STI symptoms and modes of transmission.

“Middle school, if not younger, is when kids need to be aware of what’s out there,” local parent Dawn Graubert told the Post. “There are kids in middle school that are sexually active, and if they don’t learn about it, we are doing them a disservice.”