Mel Madarang
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – In a joint memo released on Wednesday, Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal and Board of Education member Jill Ortman-Fouse asked the county’s health department and MCPS Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith to expand contraception to all high schools across the county. Currently, only four schools offer contraceptives.

“Honestly in the year 2018, there is no high school student that does not know what contraceptives are so it’s simply a matter of making them available and avoiding stigma about asking for them,” Leventhal said.

Part of the request also responds to the alarming increase of sexually transmitted infections in the county, particularly among those between the ages of 15 and 29.

Leventhal cites cost as a factor limiting the program to its current four schools, but has asked for a financial estimate from the health department for the cost of expanding the program.

“This is a matter that ought to be resolved right now, we can’t afford to have children exposed to risk and the rise in sexually transmitted infections is a real concern,” he said.

The collaborative effort to expand contraception distribution comes at time when both Leventhal and Ortman-Fouse are in the last few months of their county service.

Read the following memo below:

With a new school year fast approaching, we are writing to request more information regarding the recently announced plans for distribution of contraceptives at high school wellness centers, the feasibility of expanding access to additional schools, a copy of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) student education plan, and timeline to increase access to testing and treatment for STIS.

As you are already aware, the latest health data indicate that several STIs are on the rise in Montgomery County among our youth. Cases of chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea rose sharply from 2016 to 2017 for individuals between the ages of 15 and 29, and Montgomery County’s increases are significantly higher than the Maryland state average.

We understand that the county’s Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) intends to offer condoms to students at the four school-based wellness centers as part of a comprehensive strategy to address this public health crisis. However, we would like to see access expanded beyond these four schools to all high schools in the county as has been done in Baltimore City and Dorchester County. In addition, we would appreciate the assistance of your respective agencies in assessing the feasibility of extending this resource to middle schools, either through targeted distribution or by making them generally available at all middle schools.

We recognize the sensitivities surrounding issues related to sexual health and making contraceptives available at schools. For this reason, we feel it is important for HHS and Montgomery County Public Schools to allay the concerns of parents, teachers and students who may have reservations about the introduction of condoms into schools. There is a perception among some that the provision of condoms in schools will lead to increased sexual activity among youth. The relationship between the availability of condoms and sexual behavior has been extensively studied over the last few decades, and the overwhelming majority of data suggest that the opposite is true. Studies have shown that when condoms are provided in conjunction with education on the prevention of STIs, it leads to a decrease in the initiation of sexual activity and, more broadly, leads to positive health outcomes, particularly among high-risk groups.1 We believe students and parents should be educated on the recent surge in STI cases, risk behaviors and why the distribution of condoms is both a prudent and necessary precaution to prevent the spread of these infections. Accordingly, we would like to better understand the interagency strategy to inform students and parents of the risk of STIs and the ramifications if we don’t take immediate, concrete measures to address this now.

As stewards of children, we have a moral obligation to create an environment that meets not only their educational, but their physical and medical needs as well. Parents entrust the county to nurture their children’s minds and bodies, and we would be doing them a disservice if we did not make every effort to provide these sexual health resources to every adolescent in the county. Untreated STIs can lead to serious long-term health consequences, especially for adolescents and young women. We acknowledge there are practical, as well as fiscal, challenges associated with greatly expanding access to condoms across the school system and are committed to working through them with you to ensure that we stop this alarming health trend in its tracks.

Thank you for your consideration of our views and for any additional details you can provide regarding the rollout of this new public health initiative.

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