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Sex education in schools an unknown factor

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Published: Sept. 8, 2008 at 11:12 AM

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Exactly what most schools in the United States are teaching teenagers about sex is unknown due to a lack of a tracking system, researchers say.

National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Chief Executive Officer Sarah Brown said while the fight over the substance of sex education classes rages on, determining exactly what most schools are offering remains elusive, USA Today said Monday.

"As much as we fight about sex education, we actually know very little about it in the real world," Brown said.

Researchers like Brown say whether schools offer sex education based on abstinence or a more comprehensive agenda, they have found no direct correlation between such studies and teens' behaviors.

National Abstinence Education Association member Valerie Huber said since studies have found that sex education classes alone do not tend to influence the majority of U.S. teens, she called on parents nationwide to take action.

"You can't expect that one class is going to undo all the misinformation teens are receiving from the other sources," Huber told USA Today. "It needs to be reinforced, and parents should be the primary sex educators of their children."

Topics: Sarah Brown
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