HOUSE AND SENATE AT ODDS OVER ABSTINENCE EDUCATION FUNDING
Full house review postponed until after Congress’ recess over the July 4 holiday
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (June 26, 2007) – Two weeks after a House Subcommittee voted to continue funding for the Community Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $28 million cut for CBAE.
“Now is a vital time for the community to contact our state senators in support of continued funding for abstinence education,” said Starlet Speakman, chairman of the Why Know Board of Directors. “Studies show an overwhelming 93 percent of parents want abstinence education for their kids, and we must vocalize that desire if we wish to continue abstinence education in our schools.”
One of Why Know’s programs funded by CBAE is the Road to Excellence Leadership Development (RTE) program, which consists of 36 individual groups that meet weekly to encourage good decision-making, help students develop and strengthen their leadership skills, and reinforce students’ value and self-worth. In the past six years, Road to Excellence groups have grown to nearly 600 participants. Last year 90 percent of students participating in these ongoing support programs abstained from sexual activity, which is nearly 40 percent above the national average. Additionally, 88.7 percent of participants said the program also equipped them to say no to other risky behaviors such as drug and alcohol use.
“Cutting abstinence education funding would jeopardize the future for our children,” said Speakman. “Each year 25 percent of sexually active teens will contract a sexually transmitted disease. And, sexually active teens are more likely to suffer from depression, attempt suicide, fail in school, abuse drugs and alcohol and experience dating violence.”
Statistics show abstinence education is working. Since Why Know began in 1991, teen pregnancy rates in Hamilton County have decreases by 30 percent, correlating with increased abstinence among teens. Similarly, Georgia has experienced a decrease in teen pregnancy for its eleventh consecutive year, which state officials attribute to abstinence education in schools. Why Know’s curriculum is Tennessee’s largest and most successful abstinence program and Georgia’s most used abstinence education program north of Atlanta.
About Community Based Abstinence Education (CBAE)
The Community-Based Abstinence Education Program supports public and private entities in developing and implementing abstinence education programs for adolescents, ages 12 through 18, in communities across the country. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides funds for community-based abstinence educational interventions designed to reduce the proportion of adolescents who have engaged in premarital sexual activity, including but not limited to sexual intercourse, the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies among adolescents, and the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents.
About Why Know:
Why Know Abstinence Education, Inc. is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Why Know works closely with schools, churches, and civic organizations to equip teens to be sexually abstinent by giving in-depth knowledge, ongoing support and life skills for a successful future. Why Know serves 57 schools in the Chattanooga and North Georgia, and its curriculum is used in 40 states and 11 countries. For more information about Why Know, visit www.whyknow.org or call 423.899.9188.
