Report: Chicago Schools Make Condoms And Birth Control Available For Fifth Graders

According to the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday, Chicago Public Schools’ Board of Education passed a policy at the end of last year mandating schools that teach fifth grade and up must maintain condom availability as part of their sexual health education program.

The Times reported that CPS’ top doctor and a pediatrician for three decades, Kenneth Fox, said the idea was “years in the making” and added that it was “a step in the right direction for student health.”

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Condoms For 10-Year-Olds

Fox told the Times, “Young people have the right to accurate and clear information to make healthy decisions. And they need access to resources to protect their health and the health of others as they act on those decisions.” 

Fox said, according to the Times, “Essentially what we want to do is make condoms available to students for if and when they think they need them.”

“When you don’t have those protections and don’t make those resources available then bad stuff happens to young people,” Fox elaborated. “You have elevated risks of sexually transmitted infections, of unintended pregnancies, and that’s very preventable stuff.”

‘CPS Stresses That Choosing To Not Have Sex Is The Norm For 5th graders’

The Times noted 250 condoms will be distributed to middle schools and high schools will receive 1,000, via the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Fox admitted, according to the Times, “I would expect that not everybody is going to be completely on board right from the start, but I do think society has changed,” Fox said.

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The CPS sex curriculum reads, “CPS stresses that choosing to not have sex is the norm for 5th graders. Parents/guardians should be notified by their school if a condom demonstration will be provided.”

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The Chicago Sun-Times also reported that this curriculum will include lessons on puberty, hygiene, gender identity, relationships, sexual harassment, birth control, abstinence and how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.