Wisconsin Returns Sex-Ed Decisions to Schools

March 26, 2012

Wisconsin's legislature recently repealed a law mandating that comprehensive sex education be taught in schools -- allowing educators to decide what kinds of lessons are appropriate for their students going forward, WORLD News Service reports. The measure, which the governor is expected to sign, requires schools that choose to teach sex-ed to emphasize the fact that abstinence is the only fool-proof method of birth control and that marriage has the greatest socioeconomic benefits for individuals and society. In contrast to the former law, schools are no longer required to teach about contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Mary Ann Mosack, vice chairman of the National Abstinence Education Association advisory board, said the bill would empower school districts to plug in the values of their communities. "[It] allows local school districts and parents to choose an abstinence-centered program, which was prohibited in the former law," she said.