I spoke to Montel Williams on his Air America show Montel Across America, last Thursday. We talked about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2008, which was released last week. The CDC’s report found that STDs, such as chlamydia, syphilis and gonorrhea, are on the rise. And why is this relevant to us? Because the report found that there are over 19 million new STD infections each year and almost half of them occur in young people who are 15 to 24 years old. Montel, much like other adults who’ve been talking about the report, was alarmed by these numbers and referred to the high rates of STDs among young people as “frightening” news.

It is surprising to hear this news. But what’s really frightening is the fact that many teens are in abstinence-only programs or not getting sex ed at all. This means there are teens who aren’t getting the information they need about safer sex. It also means that many teens haven’t gotten the skills they need to talk about and make decisions about safer sex with their partners if they do decide to become sexual. Comprehensive sexuality education may be able to help reduce STD rates. It teaches teens the skills they need to take care of their sexual health, make healthy decisions, get clear about their own values and set boundaries when it comes to sexuality.

For more information, check out our stories, FAQs, Forum and quizzes on STDs and having important conversations about sexuality with your parents, partner and health care provider.

-Colleen Tierney, 16, Staff Writer

What comes to mind when you hear the words “politics,” “budgets” and “Congress?” Lots of teens might think, That’s boring. I don’t care. But what happens in Washington has a direct impact on you and your sex education. If you’ve avoided politics up to this point, now is a good time to pay attention: President Obama wants to cut funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.

Under President Bush, ab-only programs received million of dollars. Coincidentally, teen birth rates and STDs went up. It seems like “Just say no” just didn’t work. But President Obama plans to shift money from ab-only programs to sex education programs “that stress the importance of abstinence while providing medically-accurate and age-appropriate information to youth who have already become sexually active.” In plain English, President Obama knows that you can’t just teach abstinence—teens need info about birth control and condoms, too!

But wait, don’t think that Obama can magically change your sex ed with a snap of his fingers! The budget must pass through Congress, so it’s entirely possible that the people elected to represent YOUR interests—senators and state representatives—can stand in the way of improving YOUR sex education! So don’t just stand there, do something about it!

Tell your senators and state representatives that you want, need and deserve better sex ed! Advocates for Youth has made it easy for you to contact your senators and congress members with the click of a button. So take a stand with President Obama, and fight for your right to a better sex education!

You’ve heard the saying “everything’s bigger in Texas.” But bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, especially when it comes to sex education. A new report from the Texas Freedom Network (TFN) is sounding the alarm about abstinence-only programs in Texas that rob teens of honest and accurate information about pregnancy, birth control and more. Here’s just a few things it found:

• Most Texas students are only taught abstinence, and aren’t given medically accurate information on pregnancy and STD prevention.
• Sex ed resources used in schools contain factual errors, including lies and distortions about condoms and STDs.
• Students learn about sexuality through shame and fear, instead of respect and celebration of sexuality.
• Texas ab-only programs often promote stereotypes based on gender and sexual orientation, creating an environment of sexism and homophobia.

Your school wouldn’t skip over Shakespeare in English class or square roots in your math class. So do some schools leave out information about birth control, pregnancy and STDs in your health class?

Don’t stay in the dark! It’s time to speak up for the sex ed you want, need and deserve. Take this survey about your sex ed, and set up a profile on Your Voice, Your Rights, the newest addition to Sexetc.org. Check out profiles from teens across the country, and hear what they have to say about their sex ed (or lack of it). Then get the information you need to improve sex ed in your school.

Check out these videos from the TFN Education Fund about sex ed, Texas style:

Where exactly do babies come from? And how are they really made? Almost everyone wonders about questions like these, especially when you’re young. But some of the answers parents give their children are anything but accurate! Stork, anyone?

Parents are the most important source of sex ed in our lives. And misconceptions about sex and pregnancy can start at an early age if parents aren’t comfortable talking to their kids. Filmmaker Jessica Yu explores some of this early childhood misinformation and misunderstandings about sex in her film “The Kinda Sutra.” Check out a preview of the film, and compare some of these funny stories about where babies come from with your own.

Virginity pledges are a part of some abstinence-only programs and have even gotten big endorsements from celebrities like Jordin Sparks and the Jonas Brothers. The idea makes sense on paper: Take a virginity pledge and promise to not have sex. This pledge is supposed to help you remain abstinent, and we know abstinence is the only birth control that is 100-percent effective at preventing pregnancy and STDs. But what if taking a pledge doesn’t work, or even worse, puts you at risk for pregnancy and STDs?

According to a new study, teens that take virginity pledges are just as likely to have sex as teens that don’t take a pledge. Teens that pledged had just as many sexual partners and started having sex at the same age as those that didn’t pledge. And the teens that took the pledge were less likely to use protection when they eventually had sex!

You just can’t take a virginity pledge, cross your fingers and hope to not have sex! What happens if you don’t stick to your pledge and never learned about how to protect yourself from pregnancy and STDs? Whether or not you take a virginity pledge, make sure you know where to get tested, how to get birth control and how to properly use a condom. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared!