North Carolina: The Debate Over Sex Education

A bill that would require all public schools to offer comprehensive sex education has stalled several times over the last few weeks in North Carolina's Senate. The measure is supported mostly by Democrats, who control both General Assembly chambers. It would allow parents to opt that their children be removed from the class during discussions about birth control.

Republicans and conservative Christian groups vigorously oppose the bill, believing the state should maintain the status quo in which nearly every school system teaches an abstinence-only curriculum. Teen pregnancies have declined over the last decade since abstinence has been the norm, noted Sen. Jim Forrester (R-Gaston).

Compared with other states, North Carolina still has high teen pregnancy and STD rates, said Rep. Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe), the bill's chief supporter. Democrats are discussing the legislation privately to assuage the concerns of individual school districts and conservatives.

Under the House bill passed in April, students whose parents do not return paperwork indicating a curriculum preference, comprehensive or abstinence-only, would receive no instruction. However, some school officials have said that would create logistical problems and also be a poor education policy.

"Those children of parents who don't send the form back in probably need more education than children whose parents do send the form back in," said Sen. Martin Nesbitt (D-Buncombe).

The Senate would amend the House bill to make comprehensive sex education the default enrollment choice for parents who do not indicate a preference. In practice, students in the abstinence-only group would likely leave the classroom on days when birth control was discussed. The measure could next come up for discussion in the Senate Wednesday.

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