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GREENSBORO — Students in Guilford County will learn about the controversial morning-after pill this year as sweeping changes to sex education take effect across the state this fall. Students also will learn more about sexual assault and community resources that deal with sexual health.

The changes, approved by the General Assembly last year, mean students in some school districts will hear about more than just abstinence for the first time.

The changes are less drastic for school districts such as Guilford County, which previously adopted expansive sex education curriculum.

Students began learning about contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases in Guilford County health classes in 1996.

The state now requires sex ed be taught in seventh and eighth grades as well as at some point in high school, ninth grade for most Guilford County students. Parents still have the option of withdrawing their child from class during the sex ed lessons.

Local students have learned about various contraceptives in previous years but teachers did not discuss emergency contraception, commonly referred to as the morning-after pill. The revised state law requires teachers to discuss all contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including an over-the-counter morning-after pill for women as young as 17. The pill can be taken after sexual intercourse to prevent ovulation, fertilization or implantation.

Jean Workman, a community health educator with the Guilford County Department of Public Health, said the new law strengthens an already in-depth program in local schools. She is pleased to see the state now requires teachers to discuss where students can receive testing for such STDs as syphilis, gonorrhea or HIV.

“It’s thorough in terms of making sure that resources are provided to teens,” Workman said. “Specifically stating that in a law I think is powerful.”

Workman helps administer Smart Girls, a pregnancy prevention program for middle school girls. Tween girls have a lot of misconceptions about sex and what makes a healthy relationship, Workman said. The revised program includes discussions about sexual abuse and relationships, something Workman says is already discussed in Guilford County schools but needs reinforcing.

“The way the media portrays healthy dating relationships and the way in the real world a healthy relationship should be are two very different things,” Workman said. “Teenagers today are exposed to a lot of media so they need to be exposed to what positive relationship characteristics should be.”

The lessons about abuse and assault are designed to make teens aware of date rape and familiar rape and ways to reduce the risk of either occurring.

Rhonda Wilder remembers when her daughter Ashley brought home a letter announcing her middle school health class would begin sex ed.

“When you look at your little baby you’re like, 'Oh God, is it already time to talk about sex?’” Wilder said.

But Wilder, who had Ashley when she was 19, says the sex ed curriculum gives parents an information base to build on to talk about morals and what’s expected of their children.

“What’s the alternative?” Wilder asked. “If they don’t know what’s going on, what’s going to protect them against STDs and getting pregnant?”

Ashley, 17, graduated this past spring with three pregnant classmates. Teens need to wait on having sex, she says, but many don’t, and they need to know how to protect themselves.

 “I think it should be mandatory,” she said. “You learn about the health concerns and that’s important.”

Tanya Reid is a mother of four, including a teenage daughter. She, too, supports  sex education but is uncomfortable with schools giving out information about contraceptives.

“You’re saying you don’t have to be a parent. You can try this (sex) — just make sure you use this,” Reid said. “You’re giving them a solution to go around it.”

School board member Paul Daniels agrees and says the school district has no business talking to students about sex. Daniel objects to the idea that the curriculum is based on the best medical and scientific data available.

“We’re having trouble teaching kids to read and write. How are we going to do any better teaching sex education?” he asked.

Daniels is the father of two daughters. He and his wife allowed their oldest daughter to participate in sex education classes.

“You opt out and you make your child uncomfortable, and I think the people in the schools know that,” Daniels said.
Daniels isn’t alone. The N.C. Family Policy Council, a conservative group based in Raleigh, fought the sex ed changes.

Executive Director Bill Brooks says that although the new law maintains an abstinence focus, he worries some teachers won’t present statistics honestly enough to promote abstinence.

“It’s not the bill so much as what health educators decide to do behind the backs of parents or that parents are unaware of,” Brooks said.

Workman and other supporters say data show an in-depth sex ed program lowers teen pregnancy and STD rates.

The rate of pregnancy among teens 15 to 19 years old in Guilford County declined from 1992 to 2007, the most recent year data are available. In 2007, there were about 57 teen pregnancies per 1,000 girls. There were about 1,050 reports of STDs in teens ages 13 to 19 that year and 12 reported cases of HIV/AIDS.

Although opponents say the new law goes too far, there are some who think it doesn’t go far enough. It does not address homosexuality, specifically citing heterosexual marriages as the best way to avoid STDs and HIV/AIDS.

Greensboro residents David and Jean Parker are members of a national group called Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. The Parkers say they’re disappointed to see homosexuality and transgender left out of the law but know that it wouldn’t have passed otherwise. It’s a sacrifice they say they and others are willing to make to see stronger sex education in schools.

“We got the best thing passed that we could,” David Parker said. “I think it’s very unfortunate that so many people can’t accept that homosexuality is normal.”

School district officials intend to get the word out about the changes. Parents should receive a written notice before sex ed classes begin and many schools plan to call parents as well. All sex ed materials and lesson plans will be available at each middle and high school for parents to review.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com