Vermont schools adapt to first-in-the-nation condom law - Bennington Banner
Vermont became the first state in the nation to require school districts make condoms available free of charge to middle and high school students.
A new law, Act 157 of 2020, states that each district shall make condoms available, free of charge, to all students in its secondary schools. It leaves it to school administrators to decide the best way to distribute condoms, but sets a minimum bar of “locations that are safe and readily accessible to students, including the school nurse’s office.”
The law also addresses standards for health education, such as instruction that promotes responsible personal behavior and regards the possible outcomes of sexual activity.
Across Southern Vermont, the new law didn’t require a sea change in policy at high schools, principals said. Some schools, including Brattleboro Union High School, have been providing teenagers with condoms for years.
Brattleboro principal Steve Perrin said the school board was “very supportive” when the program was first proposed, and that the health office, which runs the program, provides counseling, checks for latex allergies and allows parents to opt out.
“Our counselors and health teacher also provide information on availability and reproductive health. It has been a quiet success for us, and nurses do report steady usage,” Perrin said.
At Long Trail School in Dorset, “Under the stewardship of our school nurse, LTS complies with Vermont mandates on condom availability,” head of school Seth Linfield said in an email. “The relevant research teaches that condom availability does not increase sexual activity.”
Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester has had condoms available in the heath office for years, in addition to compulsory health education that most students take in ninth grade, said school nurse Megan Beattie-Cassan. That curriculum includes safe sex practices, abstinence and information on preventing sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy.
The condoms are available in a basket where students can simply grab them with no questions asked, or in the nurse’s office with consultation on their safe and proper use. But Beattie-Cassan said a significant number of students seek out conversations rather than simply grab and go.
“[Students are] actually really good about asking, which allows us to have those conversations,” she said.
“We have relationships with students and that allows them to feel comfortable about talking about personal, private adult matters,” Beattie-Cassan said. “Pretty frequently, we get to have these conversations where they might not feel comfortable talking to somebody at home.”
In the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union in Bennington County, a policy established in 2016 provided that condoms would be available to grade-nine-to-12 students, with appropriate counseling provided and no records kept, to maintain student privacy. All of the supervisory union’s districts, including elementary districts, adopted the policy that year.
But the local policy specifies high school rather than secondary students, and states that “member districts will determine if a condom availability program will be available in its schools,” where state law now requires compliance.
“We are working on processing the new information,” supervisory union assistant superintendent Laura Boudreau said when asked if the district intended to update the policy to reflect the change. Officials will meet to discuss how to best implement the guidelines, she said.
Why middle school?
“We know puberty can begin in middle school students and actually does in some students,” said Lucy Leriche, the vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. “Also, the youth risk behavior survey did indicate people of middle school age who were sexually active.”
Planned Parenthood was among supporters of the new law, and is supplying condoms to school districts.
“From a public health standpoint, we are doing everything we can to keep the community safe and prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies,” Leriche said.
According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey results for middle schools, 5 percent of Vermont middle school students (grades 6 to 8) reported having had sex. More boys than girls reported having had intercourse, and condom usage increased with grade level, from 39 percent for sixth grade to 57 percent for seventh grade and 60 percent for eighth grade.
With those facts and findings in mind, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England wanted to support prevention, safety and healthy habits, Leriche said.
“Even if students are not sexually active, they should understand the importance of safe sex and the importance of contraception and general reproductive and sexuality education, so when they are ready, they are prepared and will develop good healthy habits early on,” she said.
Among high school students, the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed students were more likely to have had sex, and less likely to have used a condom, as they advanced through school.
The percentage of students who reported having sex was 18 percent of ninth-graders, 33 percent of 10th-graders, 50 percent of 11th-graders and 59 percent of 12th-graders.
But 64 percent of 9th-graders reported having used a condom, compared to 60 percent of 10th-graders, 55 percent of 11th-graders and 49 percent of 12th-graders.
Act 157 was introduced in the House by state Rep. Francis “Topper” McFaun, a Republican from Barre Town, and was supported by the Scott administration and the state Department of Health.
At the time the bill passed, McFaun said he introduced it as a means of reducing the number of abortions in Vermont.
“I’m talking about allowing people to be in the position where they don’t have to make the decision, that crucial decision, to have an abortion or not — that’s what I’m trying to prevent,” McFaun told Vermont Public Radio in 2020. “And the way to do that is to provide ways to allow people to protect themselves.”
The same law also mandates insurance coverage for contraception and outpatient services including sterilization.
source: https://www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/vermont-schools-adapt-to-first-in-the-nation-condom-law/article_8d0078a6-4403-11ec-8aac-9f2d5aa62a3b.html
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