A new report from Arkansas researchers further confirms the long-term consequences for the state’s student-aged population not presented with an adequate level of sexual education curriculum during their enrollment in public schools. That report comes from the Arkansas Advocates for Children and families (AACF). The work is entitled, “Data Demonstrates Disparity Across School Districts.”
In a survey of all public-school districts statewide, of those that responded, AACF researchers say they discovered that less than one-third of school districts in Arkansas offer at least a moderately comprehensive sexual health education curriculum. By law, Arkansas schools are not mandated to teach sex education, but if offered, the curriculum must stress abstinence.
As Little Rock Public Radio reports, AACF Education Policy Director Nicole Carey says a lack of sex education has a strong correlation with high teenage birth rates and that Arkansas ranks 2nd highest in the entire country right now. “There’s costs on the healthcare side. There’s obviously an additional cost to, if kids aren’t completing their high school or any other type of GED program. There’s a cost to the community in that way of lost wages and that type of thing. So, I think that’s definitely a piece of it and a piece of something the community doesn’t realize.”
As you see above, the areas shaded in black show districts without a CSE survey score, either because they responded with an email and/or documents instead of completing the survey, or they did not respond.
Carey says her nonprofit agency is convening a working group to discuss what policies are needed in order to bolster sex education across Arkansas. You can find the full report online here.
