The state of Texas has the 3rd highest teen birth rates. Additionally, it is the number one highest for multiple births to teenage mothers.
In 1995, Texas legislators voted to have sex-education in the classroom, but allowed school districts to decide what kind of education they should provide. A 2009 study by the progressive Texas Freedom Network showed that 94 percent of school districts elected to only teach abstinence. The Guttmacher Institute notes that a sexually active teen who does not use contraception has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within a year. The rising birth rate in Texas would seem to support this, but now with the state's rising pregnancy rates, schools and parents are changing to an abstinence-plus curriculum including one that includes information on contraception and sexually transmitted diseases.
Although Texas school districts are trying to catch up with modern sex education, using the school system will not help with the pregnancy crisis. In a 2010 statewide TFN poll showed that about 80 percent of likely voters favor teaching students about contraception. Consider the "pregnancy pact" incident at Gloucester High School in 2008. Girls there were in a race to become pregnant, despite the more extensive sex education provided to the Massachusetts population.
In times of financial and family upheaval, some teenage girls feel that having a baby will give them unconditional love. They are oblivious to the responsibility of things like 3 A.M. feedings. Some might blame the school for making motherhood too easy, by providing free on-site day care during school hours, and making strollers available to students during the school year. If parents want the school system to provide education and moral direction, they must include more than contraception. They must educate in responsibility for raising a new life.
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