Under North Carolina law, all sex education lessons should stress a "mutually faithful monogamous heterosexual relationship in the context of marriage." This abstinence-only approach is at the core of sex education in more than 100 of the state's 117 school systems. Lessons on methods of contraception emphasize their potential to fail.

A few North Carolina school systems have chosen to teach comprehensive sex education, in which contraceptives are more openly discussed and teachers can directly address questions concerning abortion and sexual orientation. However, comprehensive programs are still required to tell students that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and STDs.

In 1995, the state began requiring all school systems choosing comprehensive programs to hold public hearings and make lesson materials available for review by parents. Districts that have not held these public hearings "really shouldn't be talking about contraception," said Sarah Langer, a consultant with the state Department of Public Instruction.

"The No. 1 state rule is: You will teach abstinence until marriage as the expected standard for school-age children," said Langer. "Contraception offers another standard."

Both abstinence-only and comprehensive school systems are supposed to declare whether they refer students' questions about contraception to outside agencies, such as county health departments. But no more than half of North Carolina's school districts have referral policies in place, said Langer. Of those that do, "Most say, 'No, you can't do referrals,'" she added.

A state Department of Education survey conducted earlier this year found that:

• 98 percent of parents think reproduction basics should be taught in school.
• 91 percent of parents think abstinence-until-marriage should be taught.
• 80 percent of parents believe schools should teach about condom use.
• 57 percent of parents think schools should have classroom demonstrations on how to correctly use a condom.

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