Texas youth want instruction on contraceptive use

In the state of Texas, all public schools that provide sexual education to their students are required to base these programs around abstinence. However, the area has the third highest rate of teenage pregnancies in the country, and students want educators to help change this statistic by involving more information about safe sex in the curricula, according to a report from Reuters.

The news source stated that Texas Representative Joaquin Castro proposed a bill that would require sexual education classes to include details on birth control and how to avoid the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

According to the Department of State Health Services, high school students between the ages of 15 and 19 hold the second highest rate of chlamydia and gonorrhea.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 40 percent of females and males in this age group have had intercourse.

Teens across the nation are requesting that they receive sexual education. A similar situation in Boston, Massachusetts, also recently received attention.

Young people who would like to be screened for STDs may consider using online testing services.