Sexuality Education Law and Policy | Recent Legislation | Events of Note | Youth Statistical Information of Note | Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding | Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) and Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) Grantees | Federal and State Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs | Adolescent Health Contact | Organizations that Support Comprehensive Sexuality Education | Organizations that Oppose Comprehensive Sexuality Education | Local Newspapers | References  

Montana’s public education systemis supervised by the Montana Board of Public Education, which sets standards for curricula in public schools. According to the Montana Office of Public Instruction, the board of public education requires a “health enhancement” program. According to the health enhancement program’s content standards, “a student must have basic knowledge and understanding of concepts that promote comprehensive health.” Specifically, by the end of fourth grade, students should be able to “identify personal health-enhancing strategies…that encompass injury/disease prevention, including HIV/AIDS prevention.” By the end of eighth grade, students should be able to understand the reproductive system as well as personal health-enhancing strategies about sexual activity and HIV/AIDS prevention. By graduation, students should be able to understand the impact of personal behaviors on the body, including the reproductive system, and have personal health-enhancing strategies about sexual activity and HIV/AIDS prevention. The Montana Board of Public Education released a Position Statement on HIV/AIDS that states, “All Montana school districts are strongly encouraged to develop appropriate communicable disease policies that specifically include HIV and AIDS, and which address age-appropriate education, rights and accommodations of students and staff who are infected, and safety procedures.”

Due to the autonomous nature of Montana school districts, standards for the sexuality education portion of the health enhancement program are not defined. Furthermore, there is no oversight of what is being taught or who is teaching these classes.

Montana neither requires parental permission for students to participate in sexuality or HIV/AIDS education nor does it say whether parents or guardians may remove their children from such classes.

 

See Montana Administrative Rules 10.54.7011, 7012, and 7013; 10.54.2501, and 10.55.905; and Montana Board of Public Education Position Statement on HIV/AIDS.

 

 

House Bill 612, introduced in February 2007, would have established a grant program within the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to fund cities, counties, or tribal health councils to carry out age-appropriate sexuality education that follows a specific curriculum. Components included that the instruction “must be age-appropriate and medically accurate; may not teach or promote religion; must stress the benefits of sexual abstinence while addressing the health needs of adolescents who have had or who are engaged in a sexual relationship; must provide information about the health benefits and side effects of all contraceptives and barrier methods as a means to reduce the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, HIV, AIDS, and other diseases and preventing unintended pregnancy; and must encourage family communication about sexuality among parents, other adult household members, and children.” Programs may not be out of compliance with any of the components. The bill addressed eligibility for Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage funds, stating that “because the requirements set forth in each program are in direct conflict, an eligible entity may not accept contracts from both programs.” DPHHS would have been responsible for overseeing all procedures, contracts, and awards related to the “Healthy Youth Program.” The bill died after it was tabled in the House Committee on Human Services on a party-line vote and missed the deadline for general bill transmittal.

 

 

·        In 2007, 46% of female high school students and 45% of male high school students in Montana reported ever having had sexual intercourse compared to 46% of female high school students and 50% of male high school students nationwide.

 

·        In 2007, 3% of female high school students and 7% of male high school students in Montana reported having had sexual intercourse before age 13 compared to 4% of female high school students and 10% of male high school students nationwide.

·        In 2007, 13% of female high school students and 15% of male high school students in Montana reported having had four or more lifetime sexual partners compared to 12% of female high school students and 18% of male high school students nationwide.

 

·        In 2007, 35% of female high school students and 28% of male high school students in Montana reported being currently sexually active (defined as having had sexual intercourse in the three months prior to the survey) compared to 36% of female high school students and 34% of male high school students nationwide.

 

·        In 2007, among those high school students who reported being currently sexually active, 56% of females and 73% of males in Montana reported having used condoms the last time they had sexual intercourse compared to 55% of females and 69% of males nationwide.

 

·        In 2007, among those high school students who reported being currently sexually active, 30% of females and 15% of males in Montana reported having used birth control pills the last time they had sexual intercourse compared to 19% of females and 13% of males nationwide.

 

·        In 2007, among those high school students who reported being currently sexually active, 21% of females and 32% of males in Montana reported having used alcohol or drugs the last time they had sexual intercourse compared to 18% of females and 28% of males nationwide.

 

·        In 2007, 90% of high school students in Montana reported having been taught about AIDS/HIV in school compared to 90% of high school students nationwide.

 

 

·        Montana was eligible for $161,398 in federal Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage funding in Fiscal Year 2008.

·        The Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage grant requires states to provide three state-raised dollars or the equivalent in services for every four federal dollars received. The state match may be provided in part or in full by local groups.

·        Montana, however, chose not to apply for these funds due to the extraordinary restrictions placed upon how the money must be spent. Therefore, the state does not match funds nor does it have organizations supported by this type of federal money.

·        There are no CBAE or AFLA grantees in Montana.  

 

 

Montana did not receive abstinence-only-until-marriage funding in Fiscal Year 2008. 

Jo Ann Dotson

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
Director’s Office
P.O. Box 4210
111 N. Sanders
Helena, MT 59620
Phone: (406) 444-4743

 

 

ACLU of Montana P.O. Box 1317 Helena, MT 59624 Phone: (406) 443-8590   www.aclumontana.org	Blue Mountain Clinic 610 North California Street Missoula, MT 59802 Phone: (406) 721-1646 www.bluemountainclinic.org
NARAL Pro-Choice Montana P.O. Box 279 Helena, MT 59624 Phone: (406) 443-0276 www.prochoicemontana.org