In the midst of rising gun violence and feuds between local gangs, the Chicago Public School Board of Education has passed a polarizing policy that may serve to increase the concerns of parents. In an effort to normalize safe sex and encourage healthy conversations at an earlier age, the Public School Board passed the policy which will allow all students 10 and up to request condoms from their public school counselors. While high schools have long been required to have at least 1,000 condoms at hand, each public elementary school will now be provided 250 condoms for distribution purposes. Other health products will also be provided to students 10-years-old and up such as menstrual products and masks.
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“Young people have the right to accurate and clear information to make healthy decisions. They need access to resources to protect their health and the health of others as they act on those decisions,” Chicago Public School Doctor Kenneth Fox told the Chicago-Sun Times. Fox continued to outline the preventative aspect of the policy. “Essentially what we want to do is make condoms available to students for if and when they think they need them,” Fox continued. “When you don’t have those protections and don’t make those resources available then bad stuff happens to young people.”
Education and outreach director at the Chicago Women’s Health Center, Scott Bratt, made it clear that the move doesn’t necessarily encourage young students to use them. “I want to be really clear that the existence of condoms does not mean that all students are going to be using those condoms or encouraged to use them,” he said, insisting that the policy is instead a “harm reduction approach.”
Do you think this is the right move? Let us know.