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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sara Knaub 312.592.6841 (office), 773.485.2410 (cell)
SPRINGFIELD, IL – Today the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education (ICRSE) released a groundbreaking report on the content of sex education curricula in use throughout Illinois classrooms. The report is the first in-depth assessment of what topics are being covered and the standards to which the curricula adhere. It comes at a time when Congress and the Illinois General Assembly are debating approval of new state and federal tax dollars for abstinence-only programs. “Today you have the first glimpse of our review of sex education curricula currently in use throughout Illinois,” said Jonathan Stacks, Campaign Manager for the Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education. “Astoundingly, the curricula ranking in the bottom third are the only ones that are directly supported by federal tax dollars and two of which will be supported by a $1.2 million investment in Illinois state tax dollars currently in the governor’s budget.” According to the study, the highest ranked curricula in terms of taking a comprehensive approach to sex education are not supported by state or federal dollars and are in rare use throughout Illinois. In contrast, Project Reality’s curricula, developed here in Illinois and receiving over $1 million per year in federal dollars and possibly $1.2 million from the Illinois state budget, ranked in the bottom third out of the 17 curricula reviewed. These specific curricula, Game Plan and Navigator, are used in 34% of Illinois schools compared to Get Real About AIDS, which ranked third but is used in only 8% of schools. A Blue Ribbon Panel of experts was formed to review each curricula to identify what topics they covered, how they covered them, and if the curricula matched up to standards as outlined by the national medical and educational associations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, World Health Organization, American Nurses Association, and Institute of Medicine. Those rated low failed to meet the criteria. Those scoring high contained many of the elements the panel recommended a quality, comprehensive sex education curricula should contain. Last week, the Mathematica Policy Research Inc. released the results of a Congressionally mandated evaluation over 10 years of government-funded abstinence-only programs. The evaluation found that abstinence-only programs had no impact on students’ age at first intercourse, number of sexual partners, or condom usage. “Over the last decade, over $1.5 billion of federal and state tax dollars have been spent on abstinence-only-until marriage programs to see if this is the best way to spend taxpayer dollars on the education of our young people, “ said Stacks. “The results came in last week and the message is clear: the abstinence-only experiment has failed.” # # # The Illinois Campaign for Responsible Sex Education was founded by the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health and Planned Parenthood of Illinois, and is supported by more than 90 organizations statewide. The Campaign advocates for age-appropriate and comprehensive sex education programs that combine teaching abstinence with the information and skills to become responsible, healthy adults.
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