RALEIGH, N.C.  – The Legislature has given its final approval to changes in North Carolina’s sex education curriculum in public schools for young teenagers.

The House narrowly agreed Thursday to the Senate version of the bill, which explains how all school systems must teach sex education in grades seven through nine. Gov. Beverly Perdue is expected to sign the bill into law.

All districts will have to teach an abstinence-until-marriage curriculum. But they’ll also have to provide information on contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and disease. Parents will be able to keep the children out of class when the more detailed information is taught.

Rep. Susan Fisher of Buncombe County said the bill still gives parents a choice in deciding what kind of sex education their children will receive.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – The North Carolina Senate has narrowly approved changing the public school curriculum to teach adolescents about the use of contraceptives to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

The bill approved 25-21 on Tuesday added details about what seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students should be taught about disease infection rates and the effectiveness of FDA-approved contraceptive methods.

The House now must approve or reject Senate changes.

The House has voted that schools teach two separate tracks – one focused on abstinence and the other on comprehensive sex education.

The Senate bill would teach all students about abstinence, then extend the course to cover contraception for students whose parents consent.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – The North Carolina Senate has held off debating two bills that involve the public schools – one on sex education and the other on bullying.

The Senate on Monday night pulled both bills from the floor. One measure ordering school districts to adopt detailed anti-bullying policies was delayed until at least Tuesday.

The other measure requires schools to offer children in grades seven though nine one curriculum focused on abstinence until marriage and another with more about contraception. That bill was returned to a Senate committee.

Democratic Sen. Ellie Kinnaird of Orange County is a co-chairwoman of the committee. She said the sex education bill was pulled in part so that more senators were present to vote. Kinnaird also said some districts are concerned about how parents would make decisions.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – A Senate panel has quietly approved separate bills telling North Carolina public schools to change how they teach sex education and to adopt detailed anti-bullying policies.

The Senate Mental Health and Youth Services Committee recommended the legislation Wednesday to the full Senate.

The sex education bill passed the House just two weeks ago. It would require schools to offer children in grades seven though nine one curriculum focused on abstinence until marriage and another with more about contraception. Parents would choose either one for their child or none at all.

The anti-bullying bill is opposed by conservative Christians who argue it would advance special protections for gay people.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – The North Carolina House has narrowly agreed to allow parents of middle school students to choose what kind of sex education their children learn in public schools.

The chamber voted 62-52 on Thursday to direct local school systems to offer two types of sex education in seventh, eighth and ninth grades.

One would focus on abstinence until marriage, and another would include more information about contraception. Parents also could choose that their child receive no sex education.

The measure received tentative approval Wednesday and now goes to the Senate.

The abstinence until marriage curriculum is the current offering in most school districts. A handful of systems offer a program that teaches about contraception. The bill would require all systems to offer both tracks.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina lawmakers have tentatively approved expanding a parent’s choice for their child’s sex education curriculum, including a change that would likely increase the number of seventh- through ninth-graders who get no sex education.

The House voted 64-53 on Tuesday to expand beyond the abstinence-until-marriage curriculum that has been the sole track since the mid-1990s. A final House vote could come Thursday.

The bill would let parents choose whether their children studied the existing curriculum, one that also discussed contraception, or skipped sex education altogether.

Social conservatives objected that marriage is devalued if children were taught about contraception they could use if they are sexually active.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina lawmakers have proposed giving parents a third choice in how public schools teach adolescents about sex – allowing them to opt of the curriculum.

The House Health Committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would expand sex education beyond the abstinence-until-marriage focus, which has been the center of the curriculum since the mid-1990s.

The bill would allow parents to decide whether their children also learned about contraception in grades seven through nine.

The committee decided Tuesday to give parents a third choice – no sex education for their child. Children whose parents make no choice would be taught under the contraception curriculum.

The measure next heads to a vote by the full state House.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – A proposal to expand sex education in North Carolina schools has been approved by a House panel after a debate about sexually transmitted disease and divine intent.

The House Health Committee on Thursday backed creating a two-track system for sex education in grades seven through nine. The bill would give parents the option of the current curriculum focused on abstinence until marriage or one that also discusses contraception.

The bill next heads to a vote by the full House.

State health director Jeff Engle said most people have sex before marriage and need information to protect themselves.

Christian Action League director Mark Creech said the Bible forbade sex outside marriage, and that eliminates the risks.

Parents who want health teachers to explain sex to their adolescent children might see a change this year in the state Legislature.

A bill approved by the House Education Committee on Tuesday would require a two-track system for sex education in grades seven through nine. The current curriculum focuses on abstinence until marriage. The legislation would require that curriculum to continue, but also give parents the choice of a comprehensive sex education course that discusses contraception.

The abstinence until marriage curriculum now predominates in North Carolina schools because the law requires school districts that want to offer comprehensive sex education to follow a lengthy long process that includes public hearings.