A new report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that one third of sex education classes in the United States do not cover information about birth control. Though 97 percent of teens surveyed by the study said they received formal sex education by the time they were 18, only about two-thirds had been taught about birth control methods. The report defines formal sex education as instruction at a school, church, community center, or other setting that teaches students how to say no to sex or about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases. The study found lessons about saying no and STDs were more common than instruction on how to use a condom or other methods of birth control. Overall, about 62 percent of boys and 70 percent of girls received birth control instruction by the end of high school, reports the Washington Post<.a>. Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy said that in the last two years, most federal funding for sex education has been redirected to programs that discuss birth control. Additionally, some states have moved to revise their own sex education legislation. For example, Wisconsin’s new Healthy Youth Act requires all public schools in the state to teach comprehensive, fact-based, age appropriate sex educations, according to RH Reality Check.
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