An Oregon school district will offer condoms to students starting in sixth grade as part of an updated sex education policy aimed at decreasing teen pregnancy, sparking debate over whether 11-year-olds are too young for such a program.
The plan by the rural Gervais School District comes after a 2013 survey by nursing students found that 7 percent of district high school girls had experienced pregnancy and 42 percent of students reported "never" or "sometimes" using protection. "Over the past few decades, teen pregnancy in our community has remained somewhat constant, but higher than the board felt comfortable with," Superintendent Rick Hensel said in a blog post earlier this week.
The school board approved the sex education policy this month for sixth through 12th graders in the tiny town north of Salem. Administrators will hash out details this summer and will start implementing the policy in the fall.