Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: AIDS scare sends sex education to kindergarten Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 17:26:45 EST Message-ID: \SE A;NATION;SPECIAL REPORT \HD AIDS scare sends sex education to kindergarten \BY Carol Innerst \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Because of AIDS, sex education starts in kindergarten, homosexuality is discussed in middle school and condoms are given out in high school. A mere five years ago, sex education was unheard of at the Glenn F. Burton Elementary School in Glendale, Ariz. "We had health education and general hygiene and a large unit on nutrition, but we didn't deal with sex education at all in our district," said Merrill Harlan, who was principal at Burton in the Phoenix suburbs for 18 years. Then a child infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - the AIDS virus - enrolled at Burton. Attitudes and policies began to change - in the district, in the state and in the country. This was two years after Ryan White, a 14-year-old Indiana hemophiliac who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion first came to public attention because of his fight to attend public school. Today 34 states including Arizona, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, require HIV education at some time during a child's school career, according to the National Association of State Boards of Education, which tracks state HIV policies. In 1987, 61 percent of the nation's elementary schools taught some form of sex education. By 1990, because of AIDS, that rose to 72 percent, the National Association of Elementary School Principals reported. In that same three-year span, the number of schools that started sex education in kindergarten rose from 17 to 22 percent. Trying to reach older youngsters who are not heeding the messages about how to protect themselves from infection, at least 17 school districts including the District have approved condom distribution in high schools, according to the Center for Population Options. Educational mandates vary. In Rhode Island, New York and Arizona, HIV education is supposed to be part of every school system's comprehensive health education program, a survey by the American Association of School Administrators/National School Boards Association revealed. In Ohio and Iowa, HIV is to be included in instruction about sexually transmitted diseases. Nevada and Kansas include it in sex education. It is included among communicable diseases education in North Carolina and the District, as part of a general health curriculum in Pennsylvania and by itself in Oklahoma, Alabama and Maryland. Kentucky and Virginia require family life education, including instruction on HIV, in grades K-12. Texas is the most populous state that still does not have mandated AIDS education. The successful integration of the child with AIDS into Burton Elementary School was the springboard to a state K-12 health-education curriculum incorporating HIV education that most districts in Arizona will implement for the first time this school year. The curriculum was approved last spring. It teaches children in kindergarten that AIDS is one of many communicable diseases. By fifth or sixth grade, they will be taught that it can be transmitted sexually. Details about sexual transmission will be given in the middle school years and beyond, Mr. Harlan said. Abstinence is the cornerstone of most HIV-education programs, said Lloyd J. Kolbe, director of the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. State-developed materials in 20 states contain information on "how to use condoms" and educational materials developed by 35 states discuss the risks associated with "unprotected anal intercourse," according to the 1990 AASA/NSBA survey. California's criteria for family life-sex-education materials allow a factual, substantiated discussion of homosexuality, including a historical view and legal ramifications. The state's guidelines restrict the discussion of homosexuality before the seventh grade. Despite the national effort, the message about the deadly disease apparently is not reaching adolescents when they need it most. "I'm very worried that young people in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades - the ages most likely to engage in risky behavior - are not getting AIDS education," said Mr. Kolbe of CDC. "The most likely vehicle is a health education program, and typically schools may only require that at sixth or seventh or eighth grade." Statistics fuel his concern: The number of AIDS cases among 13- to 19-year-olds rose from 127 in 1987 to 872 by June 1992. "At this point, AIDS is the sixth-leading cause of death among 16- to 24-year-olds," Mr. Kolbe said. "We know 40 percent of ninth graders have engaged in intercourse, 50 percent by 10th grade, 60 percent by 11th grade and 70 percent by 12th grade." More worrisome, he said, is that one of eight ninth-graders and one of four 12th-graders has had four or more sex partners. Other studies have shown that AIDS-education programs peaked early, by sixth or seventh grade, and there was not much available in the higher grades when young people began to engage in risky behavior and needed more explicit information, said Brenda Greene, manager of HIV and AIDS education for NSBA. "I don't think we're seeing much change," she said. Teacher preparation is a critical issue, because many teachers find it hard to stand up in front of a group of adolescents and talk about sexual issues. Teachers on the front line have learned that it is hard to talk to children about how the disease is transmitted, and how to keep from becoming infected, without talking about homosexuals, who comprise the highest percentage of the victims of AIDS. "If you're not trained, kids won't find you credible," Ms. Greene said. "And if nobody's watching to see what happens, you might just skip it. Then there are teachers who go beyond what is needed and let students handle contraceptive appliances when the school guidelines say no." Guidelines adopted by CDC in 1988 recommend "developmentally appropriate" HIV education at each grade from kindergarten through 12th grade. Young children should have their fears allayed and be taught that AIDS is hard to get, Mr. Kolbe said. At later ages, school programs should focus on helping young people develop the skills they need to avoid risky behaviors. "We think unquestionably, without any hesitation, that school programs should be designed to have young people abstain from intercourse," Mr. Kolbe said. Abstinence solves three major health and social problems, he said: HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases including herpes virus 2 and "1 million pregnancies a year among teen-agers." Since statistics show teen-agers ignore warnings and do engage in intercourse, "schools need to provide them with the skills to use condoms if they fail to heed the other advice," he said. "There's a difference between sex education and AIDS education, which is very specific," Mr. Harlan observed. "Many times they are used interchangeably. But there are many ways the AIDS virus is spread other than through sexual transmission. We're dealing with a generation of children who get AIDS from their mother or from a blood transfusion." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM