The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s Potential Impact on Education in California’s Public Schools
The prevention of teen births and sexually transmitted infections amongst California’s youth has been a long-standing social and economic issue. Despite a steady decline from 1991, when California’s teen birth rate reached a record high of 70.9 births per year, California’s teen birth rate had nevertheless remained much higher than other wealthy countries. However, in 2012, as a result of numerous programs aimed at teenage pregnancy prevention, the California Department of Health proudly announced that California’s teen birth rate dropped to a record low.
By achieving this record low, California decision makers have recognized the important role that public schools have played in protecting the sexual health of young people. Many have attributed the continuing decline in teen birthrates to the increased presence of sex education programs in public school curriculums. With the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Californians can expect to see an increase in such programs.
Under the PPACA, each state will be allotted a minimum of $250,000 per fiscal year in furtherance of Personal Responsibility Education Programs.[1] Programs funded by such allotments include those designed to educate adolescents on the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Furthermore, as mandated, such programs must place substantial emphasis on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy among youth.
A growing concern regarding the content of such programs has surfaced and given rise to a divide aligned with the policy platforms of our nations dominate political parties. Opponents to the PPACA, in particular pro-life groups, view this funding as a threat to children’s education. These groups foresee that Planned Parenthood will become the primary teacher of these Personal Responsibility Education Programs and thus reap the benefits of such allotments. This perceived threat accompanying Planned Parenthood’s increased participation in sex education is premised upon the belief that children will be taught that “having sex before marriage is a good thing – as long as they are responsible,” thus, resulting in the extinction of teachings of abstinence.
As irrational as these concerns may seem to some, the breadth of sex education programs in California is vast. Currently, California Education Code section 51933 outlines the parameters for sex education in California public schools. Under Section 51933, as long as instruction is appropriate for all genders, races, and sexual orientations, sex education programs can be taught to children as early as Kindergarten. This flexibility has resulted in school districts implementing sex education curriculums that meet the needs of gay, lesbian, transgender, and questioning youth. For example, San Francisco United School District’s sex education curriculum encompasses material such as, “My Two Uncles,” and it approved a first-grade field trip to city hall in which students participated in their teacher’s marriage to her same-sex partner.
Ultimately parents have a right, per California Education Code 51933 to excuse their children from these types of Personal Responsibility Education Programs. But, perhaps now more than ever, due to the breadth of curriculum approved under California Education Code 51933 and the increased funding provided by the PPACA, parents need to become more cognizant of what their children are actually being taught and become more proactive in their child’s education.
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[1] Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119, (2010). To receive such an allotment, States must submit an application with the Secretary which includes the most recent rates for both teen pregnancy and birth, as well as the State’s established goals for reducing those rates amongst the targeted teenage population. Should a State fail to submit an application, the State will no longer be eligible to receive the allotments, however, grants from unexpended allotments may be awarded by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to organizations and entities to conduct programs and activities in States that do not submit an application for an allotment under this section. In accepting such grants, these organizations or entities agree to participate in rigorous Federal evaluation. Such evaluation requires cooperation with requirements relating to the collection of data and information and reporting outcomes regarding the programs and activities carried out with such funds.
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The Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Teen Births In California: A Resource for Planning and Policy, http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/mcah/Documents/MO-TeenBirthsinCalifornia.pdf. In 2005, California’s teen birth rate was eight times that of Japan and Netherlands.
California Department of Public Health, California’s Teen Birth Rate Drops to Record Low, http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR12-012.aspx. By 2010, the rate declined to 29.0 births for every 1,000 females ages 15-19.
Steven Ertelt, Planned Parenthood to Teach More Sex-Ed Classes Thanks to Obamacare, LifeNews.Com, Sept. 17, 2012, http://www.lifenews.com/2012/09/17/planned-parenthood-to-teach-more-sex-ed-classes-thanks-to-obamacare/.
Jim Sedalk, A Government-Funded Threat, One News Now, http://www.onenewsnow.com/perspectives/miscellaneous/a-government-funded-threat.
Stealth Lessons on Homosexuality, World Net Weekly, Sept. 22, 2012, http://www.wnd.com/2009/05/96803/.
Michael Foust, San Francisco First Grade Takes Trip to “Gay Wedding,” Christian Examiner Online, Nov. 2008, http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Nov08/Art_Nov08_11.html.
Cal. Educ. Code 51933.
The funding and continued education that has been permitted by the PPACA is definitely a step in the right direction. Teaching and awareness is going to be the best preventative measure that California and even the entire country can make. Quite frankly, teaching abstinence alone is not the key. You did say that both contraception and abstinence need to be emphasized, and I do agree that both should be taught, but even though I do not have all the statistics I think the youth just need to become more aware. I think kindergarten is pushing it, but junior high and high school seems an appropriate time to use these much needed assets afforded in the PPACA. I think your last sentiment though is the most convincing. Parents need to take some initiative as well and not just rely on someone else to educate their children. Parents have the most influence on their children, and whether it is sitting down and having “the talk,” explaining about contraception, or promoting abstinence, whatever the choice may be it opens the door for future discussions and becomes a setting where the children could potentially feel more comfortable to talk and ask questions. Whereas, if they are with their friends at school they may be discouraged to ask questions and find out the truth, and then the woopsies can occur. I think this topic was a great discussion on the benefits of the PPACA for the youth and education in California public schools. I hope in the future this funding will be fully taken advantage of.
I think that you are right, children do best when they learn these kinds of lessons at school and at home. I would be interested to learn how many of the Personal Responsibility Education Programs try to engage parents. How many of these programs send literature home to be discussed by parents and children? How many of these programs invite parents to some of the lessons or presentations? And how many of these programs are educating parents on how to speak to their children about abstinence and birth control? It seems as though we need to be putting the right tools in the hands of both children and parents in order to seriously continue to lower California’s teen birth rate.
I agree and think it is extremely necessary that California, as well as other states across the country, engage in such educational programs in schools, especially during middle school and high school years. Although parents would like to believe that their teenager will not engage in premarital sex, teenagers will do what they want when it comes to sex. However, if the teen understands all of the consequences of sex, as well as the importance of engaging in safe sex, they will be able to make an educated decision, as well as choose to protect themselves. I do think it is beneficial for parents to be aware of the sexual educational programs that are going on in their child’s school, so if they want to protect their children from certain activities or programs, they are able to. It is a parent’s right to teach sexual education to their child and if they do not want their child to be exposed to something, they should be able to exercise that right.