佛罗里达今日( brevard县)（2007年7月18日）––2007年7月20日星期五
　　Kate Brennan

　　Brevard县由五名成员所组成的学校委员会正在考虑地区关于性节制教育课程的咨询意见。周二，就是否应该仅仅根据失败率对学生们进行避孕教育，他们提出了不同的意见。 

　　上周，一个咨询委员会同意两个外界的、以宗教信仰为基础的团体在现有课程之上，加入他们自己的以节欲为全部内容的项目。这两个团体是非营利的第一防卫（First Defense），一个已经被邀请进Brevard的一些课堂有十年之久的团体，和一个教堂––美国使徒部门。委员会拒绝了计划生育组织有关提供综合的性教育补编的议案。 

　　这些建议被送至主管Richard DiPatri那里，以供其考虑。周一，他建议董事会仅允许那些有认证的老师教授学生性教育课程。董事会中没有人反对DiPatri的建议。但是有两个成员，副主席Janice Kershaw（第5街区）和Amy Kneesy（第3街区）表示出了他们对保留第一防卫的赞同。 

　　Larry Hughes（第4街区）质疑为什么只有教师能担当说明避孕套如何防止STDs的角色。“为什么，为什么，难道我们不想告诉我们的学生关于预防性交传播疾病的信息？”他问道，“我们的良知能允许这种事情发生吗？这从根本上来说就是错误的。” 

　　Kershaw不同意Hughes的观点，她认为应该由父母、教堂和其他团体教授避孕方法。“如果我们开始教授孩子如何安全性交，或者如何使用避孕用具或避孕套，那么我们就是在传达一个混杂的信息，”她说，“作为学校董事会，我们不应害怕以积极的方向为学生指明其道德指南针。” 

　　8月14日，董事会将对DiPatri的建议进行投票表决。 

FLORIDA: Sex Ed Debate Divides Board

FloridaToday (Brevard County) (07.18.07) - Friday, July 20, 2007
Kate Brennan 

BrevardCounty's five-member School Board, which is considering advisory opinions on the district's abstinence- only sex education curriculum, on Tuesday disagreed over whether to teach students about contraception only in terms of its failure rates.  

Last week, an advisory committee approved two outside faith- based groups to supplement the curriculum with their own abstinence-only programs. The groups were the nonprofit First Defense and the Apostolic Ministries of America Inc., a church. For 10 years, First Defense has been invited into some Brevard classrooms. The committee rejected Planned Parenthood's proposal to provide a comprehensive sex education supplement.  

The recommendations were sent for Superintendent Richard DiPatri's consideration. On Monday, he advised the board to allow only certified teachers to give students sex education instruction. None of the board expressed disagreement with DiPatri's suggestion. But two members, Vice Chair Janice Kershaw (District 5) and Amy Kneesy (District 3), did speak in favor of retaining First Defense.  

Larry Hughes (District 4) asked why a guide specifying how condoms help prevent STDs was marked for teachers only. "Why, oh why, would we not want to give our students the information they need to protect them from sexually transmitted diseases?" he asked. "How in good conscience could we allow that to happen? That is so fundamentally wrong."  

Kershaw, disagreeing with Hughes, said contraception discussions should be left to parents, churches, and other groups. "If we start to teach kids how to have safe sex or how to use contraceptives or condoms, then we're really sending a mixed message," she said. "I don't think we, as a school board, should be afraid to point their moral compass in a positive direction."  

The board is expected to vote on DiPatri's advice on Aug. 14.