Georgia Parents for Responsible Health Education

5. 2010

Susa Nahmias — 2010-04-06T23:29:32Z

- 7. News Archive

0. Georgia

Susa Nahmias — 2009-11-11T21:20:16Z

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0. Sex Education

Susa Nahmias — 2009-10-26T03:13:18Z

This section provides Definitions and Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education, what to look for in a Sex Education Curricula and where to find it. We are also including the current state of Sex Education in Georgia as well as GPRHE Goals for Sex Education in Georgia

Comprehensive Sexuality Education will include most, if not all, of the following topics: human anatomy & reproduction, reproductive health & sexually transmitted infections, contraception & abstinence, emotional relationships, reproductive rights & responsibilities, sexual exploitation and legal aspects of sexuality, as well as self esteem, peer pressure, and sex in the media. For more information on the individual topics go to our Resource Section

Recent, and important, developments in regards to sexuality education are the results published in November, 2009 of an independent CDC Task Force. The Task Force concludes that there is sufficient evidence that comprehensive risk reduction interventions are effective in reducing risky sexual behavior and limiting the spread of sexually transmitted infections, while there is insufficient evidence of the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs.

Comprehensive Sexuality Education & GPRHE

Sex Education - Definitions & Comparisons

Who Supports Comprehensive Sex Education

Choosing a Sex Education Curriculum

Sex Education in Georgia Schools Today

0. Home

Ross Williams — 2009-10-19T01:57:03Z

We are Georgia Parents for Responsible Health Education (GPRHE),
advocates for comprehensive sexuality education in all Georgia public schools and a grass-roots organization for parents who wish to bring about change in their school or school system.

We share our experiences and resources with individual parents, local PTA's, and other groups of parents and concerned adult.
We provide tools to talk with children about sex, and to teachers & school boards about sexuality education.
We monitor sexuality education programs in local Georgia counties, and follow trends in teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Together, we advocate for comprehensive sexuality education in Georgia.

GPRHE believes that it is important that parents take responsibility for their children's sex education both at home and in school. We would all like for our children to get the information they need about pregnancy, sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases at home, but we know that many don't.

All children and young adults need to receive the necessary knowledge and skills that they need to make informed decisions about their reproductive health and their future.

This is why GPRHE believes it is imperative that all schools provide comprehensive sex education that fulfills the following criteria:

It must be medically and scientifically accurate, age-appropriate, and appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, or sexual orientation
It must include information on abstinence and other methods of preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases
It must help students develop skills for making responsible decisions about their sexuality
It should encourage parental involvement and family communication
Abstinence must not be taught to the exclusion of other materials and instruction on contraceptives and disease prevention

Over the years, many of our Georgia students have received little or no sex education to help them during the hazardous journey to adulthood. During the early years of this century, federal funds were used exclusively for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in schools and after-school programs. In 2009, a new page was turned, and these same federal funds are now used for evidence-based programs that are proven to increase the knowledge our teens need to avoid an unintended pregnancy. We, as parents, have to ensure that our local school boards, schools and after-school programs continue to take advantage of any funding available.

It all began in 2004, when parents at Shamrock Middle School (DeKalb County, GA) were informed that our eighth grade children would begin receiving abstinence-only-until-marriage sexuality education. Our Story tells how we succeeded in removing this program from DeKalb County schools.