Hawaii State Profile Fiscal Year 2009
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Sexuality Education Law and Policy | Recent Legislation | Youth Statistical Information of Note | Sexual Health Statistics | Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Education| Federal Funding of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs | Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Curricula Used by Grantees | Federal Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in FY 09 | Adolescent Health Contact | Organizations that Support Comprehensive Sexuality Education | Organizations that Oppose Comprehensive Sexuality Education | Local Newspapers | Political Blogs | References Hawaii law states that sexuality education programs must provide “medically accurate and factual information that is age appropriate and includes education on abstinence, contraception, and methods of disease prevention to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, including human immunodeficiency virus.”[1]
Hawaii’s education policy states that, “in order to help students make decisions that promote healthy behaviors, the Department of Education shall instruct students that abstentionfrom sexual intercourse is the surest and most responsible way to prevent unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases [STDs] such as HIV/AIDS, and consequent emotional distress.”[2] The policy specifies that programs shall help students remain abstinent, help currently sexually active students become abstinent, and “provide youth with information on and skill development in the use of protective devices and methods for the purpose of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.”[3]
Hawaii’s education policy further states that birth control devices may be discussed during human reproduction studies; however, “the distribution of condoms and other prophylactic devices to students shall be prohibited in the classroom, on the school campus, or at any school-related activities.”[4]
Hawaii’s Content and Performance Standards for health courses also state that sexual health should be addressed and tells schools which content areas are to be covered, but does not give curricula guidelines, suggest curricula, or go into detail as to what topics should be discussed.
Hawaii does not require parental permission for students to participate in sexuality or HIV/AIDS education nor does it say whether parents or guardians can remove their children from such classes.
See Hawaii Revised Statute § 321-11.1; Hawaii Board of Education Policies 2100, 2110, and 2245; and Hawaii Content and Performance Standards III Database.
Legislation Mandating Parental Notification for Sexuality Education
House Bill 2932, introduced in January 2010, would have required public schools to provide written notice to parents at least ten days prior to sex education instruction. The notice would have included information on the content and presenter (if not a district-employed teacher), as well as the date, time, and location of the class. The bill also would have allowed a parent or guardian to withdraw a student from such instruction by notifying the school in writing. This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Education, where it died.
Bill Mandates Comprehensive Sex Education
Senate Bill 777, and its companion, House Bill 330, which were introduced in February 2009, require groups that receive state funding for sex education to provide instruction that is medically accurate and age-appropriate. The information must include facts about abstinence, as well as contraception, for the prevention of unintended pregnancy and STDs, including HIV. SB 777 passed the Senate in February and an amended version passed the House in April; as a result, a Conference Committee was convened to resolve differences between the two bills. The compromise measure passed but was vetoed by Republican Governor Linda Lingle. The Legislature promptly overrode the veto and the legislation was enacted in July 2009.
Legislation to Reject Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding
Senate Bill 778, and its companion, House Bill 329, were introduced in January 2009 and would have required the state to reject all Title V funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. The bills recognized that such programs waste the state’s resources, as the federal grant requires matching funds from the state. SB 778 and HB 329 also stated that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs do not further the legislature’s goal of ensuring that adolescents have accurate information regarding their sexual health. HB 329 passed the Committees on Health and Education, and was referred to the Committee on Finance; SB 778 was referred to the Committees on Education, Health, and Ways and Means. Both measures were carried over to the 2010 legislative session; however, no further action was taken.
Hawaii’s Youth: Statistical Information of Note[5]
Teen Pregnancy, Birth, and Abortion
HIV and AIDS
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
SIECUS has identified some examples of model programs, policies, and best practices being implemented in Hawaii public schools that provide a more comprehensive approach to sex education for young people.[18]
Comprehensive Sex Education Programs in Public Schools
Hawaii Youth Services Network Adaptation of Making Proud Choices
In 2007, the Hawaii Youth Services Network (HYSN), a coalition of more than 50 youth-serving organizations in Hawaii, implemented science-based, sex education programs in Hawaii public and charter schools to address the high rates of unintended pregnancy and teen birth among Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI) youth in the state.[19] HYSN worked with curriculum specialists, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Hawaii Department of Health, and local partners to adapt Making Proud Choices! for use with A/PI young people.[20] The program was implemented in “20 public school classrooms” and two charter schools with middle and high school students.[21]
Making Proud Choices! is an evidenced-based STD, HIV, and pregnancy prevention curriculum for young adolescents ages 11–13 and is appropriate for use with African-American, Latino, and white populations. The curriculum consists of activities that assist young adolescents in understanding poor reasoning and decision making related to taking risks that can lead to STD/HIV infection and/or unintended pregnancy. Such activities are designed to “increase comfort with practicing condom use, address concerns about negative effects of practicing safer sex, and build skills in condom use and negotiation.”[22] Findings from a program evaluation published in the Journal of American Medical Association show that program participants reported more consistent condom use and less unprotected sex as well as a higher frequency of condom use.[23] An evaluation of the adapted curriculum used in Hawaii schools showed sustained increase in “knowledge, attitudes, and intentions related to sexual and reproductive health” among participants three months after program completion.[24]
Recent efforts by HYSN have focused on working with the Hawaii Department of Education and local schools to implement Making Proud Choices! in additional middle schools and high schools, as well as training teachers to administer the curriculum. A recent evaluation of the curriculum by the Department of Education’s review committee deemed it only to be suitable for high-risk, high school students and the curriculum was not included on the department’s recommended list. However, local schools still have the discretion to implement the curriculum.[25]
We encourage you to submit any updated or additional information on comprehensive approaches to sex education being implemented in Hawaii public schools for inclusion in future publications of the SIECUS State Profiles. Please visit SIECUS’ “Contact Us” webpage at www.siecus.org to share information. Select “state policy” as the subject heading.
The Department of Health and a community-based organization in Hawaii received $722,149 in federal funds for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Fiscal Year 2009.[26]
Title V Abstinence-Only-Until Marriage Funding
Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) Funding
Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) Funding
Some abstinence-only-until-marriage grantees in Hawaii use commercially available curricula. These include, but are not limited to:
To read reviews of abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula commonly used by federal grantees please visit the “Curricula and Speaker Reviews” webpage of SIECUS’ Community Action Kit at www.communityactionkit.org.
Federal Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in FY 2009[27]
Adolescent Health Contact[28]
Noella Kong
Adolescent Health Coordinator
Hawaii Department of Health
Children and Youth Wellness
741-A Sunset Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96816
Phone: (808) 733-4056
Newspapers in Hawaii[29]
[1] Haw. Rev. Stat. § 321-11.1(a), <http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol06_Ch0321-0344/HRS0321/HRS_0321-0011_0001.htm>
[2] Haw. Board of Ed. Policy 2110(a), <http://lilinote.k12.hi.us/STATE/BOE/POL1.NSF/85255a0a0010ae82852555340060479d/1bb88fd5ec2ea5940a2566a3000110ef?OpenDocument>
[3] Haw. Board of Ed. Policy 2110(c), <http://lilinote.k12.hi.us/STATE/BOE/POL1.NSF/85255a0a0010ae82852555340060479d/1bb88fd5ec2ea5940a2566a3000110ef?OpenDocument>
[4] Haw. Board of Ed. Policy 2245, <http://lilinote.k12.hi.us/STATE/BOE/POL1.NSF/85255a0a0010ae82852555340060479d/da81bd16b557a9590a2566a30007780f?OpenDocument>
[5] Danice K. Eaton, et. al., “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2009,” Surveillance Summaries, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 59, no. SS-5 (4 June 2010): 98–109, accessed 4 June 2010, <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdf>.
[6] U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births, and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity, (Washington, DC: Guttmacher Institute, January 2010), accessed 5 March 2010, <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf>, Table 3.1.
[7] Ibid., Table 3.2.
[8] Joyce A. Martin, et. al, “Births: Final Data for 2006,” National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 57, number 7 (Hyattsville, MD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7 January 2009), accessed 5 March 2010, <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_07.pdf>, Table B.
[9] U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births, and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity, Table 3.2.
[10] Martin, et. al, “Births: Final Data for 2006,”4.
[11] Ibid., Table B.
[12] U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births, and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity, Table 3.5.
[13] Ibid.; “AIDS Case Rate per 100,000 Population, All Ages, 2007,” (Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation), accessed 5 March 2010, <http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=513&cat=11&sub=120&yr=62&typ=1&sort=a>.
[14] Ibid., Table 16.
[15] Slide 15: “Reported AIDS Cases among Adolescents 13 to 19 Years of Age, 2007—United States and Dependent Areas,” HIV/AIDS Surveillance in Adolescents and Young Adults (through 2007), (Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 2009), accessed 25 March 2010, <http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/slides/adolescents/index.htm>.
[16] “Wonder Database: Selected STDs by Age, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender, 1996-2008 Results,” (Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 30 June 2009, accessed 5 March 2010, <http://wonder.cdc.gov>; see also Table 10: “Chlamydia: Reported Cases and Rates Per 100,000 Population by Age Group and Sex: United States, 2004–2008,” Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2008, (Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of STD Prevention, November 2009), accessed 5 March 2010, <http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats08/surv2008-Complete.pdf>, 95.
[17] Ibid; see also Table 20: “Gonorrhea—Reported Cases and Rates per 100,000 Population by Age Group and Sex: United States, 2004–2008,” Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2008,106.
[18] This is by no means a complete list of all comprehensive programming and policies related to sexuality education, but rather some examples of best practices and model programs that SIECUS identified.
[19] “Hawaii Youth Services Network–Program Adaptation in Action,” Adolescent Reproductive Health: Hawaii Success Stories, Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last modified 17 May 2010, accessed 27 May 2010, <http://www.cdc.gov/Reproductivehealth/AdolescentReproHealth/Hawaii.htm>.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid.
[22] “Making Proud Choices!” Evidence Based Programs, Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP), ETR Associates, accessed 15 April 2010, <http://www.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.ebpDetail&PageID=128>.
[23] Ibid.
[24] “Hawaii Youth Services Network–Program Adaptation in Action.”
[25] “DRH-DASH Collaborative: ‘Promoting Science Based Programs in Schools,’” Webinar, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, presented 29 March 2010.
[26] This refers to the federal government’s fiscal year, which begins on October 1st and ends on September 30th. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, Fiscal Year 2009 began on October 1, 2008 and ended on September 30, 2009.
[27] Through the Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations process, Congress eliminated all discretionary funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, including the entire CBAE program and the abstinence-only-until-marriage portion of AFLA. The grant years listed in the chart reflect the years for which funding was originally approved; however, the grants effectively ended in Fiscal Year 2009.
[28] SIECUS has identified this person as a state-based contact for information on adolescent health and if applicable, abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
[29] This section is a list of major newspapers in your state with contact information for their newsrooms. This list is by no means exhaustive and does not contain the local level newspapers which are integral to getting your message out to your community. SIECUS strongly urges you to follow stories about the issues that concern you on the national, state, and local level by using an internet news alert service such as Google alerts, becoming an avid reader of your local papers, and establishing relationships with reporters who cover your issues. For more information on how to achieve your media goals visit the SIECUS Community Action Kit.
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