Students at Osseo High School in suburban Minneapolis are seeing a new choice as they register for fall classes. In addition to the standard "comprehensive" sex-education class, they are being offered an "abstinence-only" course.
The school board recently approved the nation's first two-track program by a 4-to-2 vote. Curriculum selection and teacher training are taking place this spring.
Osseo parent Jeri Gort served on the parents' advisory committee that proposed the two-track system. "The abstinence until marriage curriculum says you need to abstain from sex until you are married," she explains. "The other curriculum says you should remain abstinent until you're 'more mature,' or until you're 'ready.' "
"This is really something that's leading edge," says Focus on the Family's Peter Brandt, who also works with the National Coalition for Abstinence Education.
Gort credits the change to persistent parents—and prayer.
At a January rally sponsored by dozens of churches, the Minnesota Coalition for Adolescent Health, and pro-life activists, national youth speaker John Crudele warned students not to fall for the "use a condom" message of traditional sex education. "If you're using protection, you're just selling out the dignity of who you are," Crudele said. "Make choices that reflect your goodness."
Copyright © 1999 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.
Annual & Monthly subscriptions available.
- Print & Digital Issues of CT magazine
- Complete access to every article on ChristianityToday.com
- Unlimited access to 65+ years of CT’s online archives
- Member-only special issues
- Learn more
More from this Issue
Read These Next
- TrendingAmerican Christians Should Stand with Israel under AttackWhile we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
- From the MagazineShould the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?Controversy over Bibles in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Germany reveal the divide between the sacred and the relatable.
- Editor's PickShoes Stay On for Maundy ThursdayFew Protestant traditions continue the footwashing that Jesus did at the Last Supper. Some want a revival of the practice.