Lawmakers Debate Sex Ed Pilot Program

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - In the state with the nation's highest
teenage pregnancy rate, Mississippi lawmakers are taking small
steps toward letting public schools teach how babies are made.
A bill that passed the state House on Thursday would authorize
"age appropriate" sex education courses in two school districts
that would be selected by the state Department of Education.
The bill specifies that boys and girls would have to be taken
into separate rooms during the discussions about pregnancy,
sexually transmitted diseases and other issues. The bill also says
abortion may not be mentioned.
The proposal moves to the Senate, where a similar bill died
earlier this month.
Mississippi schools now have an "abstinence only" approach to
discussing sex.
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The bill is House Bill 234.

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