California Poll Finds Parental Support for Comprehensive Sex Education

Many parents in Orange County, Calif., do not know what their kids are being taught in school about sex, but the majority said they prefer lesson plans that include both abstinence and contraceptives, according to a Planned Parenthood survey released Wednesday.

The poll of 1,034 parents in Orange and San Bernardino counties found that 73 percent supported comprehensive sex education that goes beyond an abstinence-only curriculum. When people were asked if they wanted programs that provided information about abstinence as well as age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education, their support crossed the lines of political philosophy, religion, ethnicity, and political party affiliation. "They want it. They'll fund it. And they'll vote to make sure their children have access to it," said Kim Custer, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties.

However, less than half of the people polled, 46 percent, said they knew what type of sex education program was offered in their children's schools. The pollsters said they used the terms "medically accurate sex education" and "comprehensive sex education" interchangeably throughout the survey with the understanding by respondents that the terms meant the same thing.

Anaheim, which has a high teen birth rate, is one of five "hot spots," along with Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Fullerton and Newport Beach, identified in the survey. Anaheim parents who participated in the poll said they supported comprehensive sex education because they've seen the consequences of teen parenthood.

Other findings include:

• 71 percent believe sex education should begin in fourth through seventh grades.
• Less than half feel comprehensive sex education should be left solely up to parents.
• Nearly 70 percent said they would support increased funding for comprehensive sex education.

Planned Parenthood plans to present the results of the survey to school boards in Orange County to show that there is parental support for a broader-based curriculum.

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