HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	49
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

urging the hawaii board of education to consider amending its sexual health education policy to allow the distribution of condoms and other prophylactic devices.

     WHEREAS, there are several state laws and policies in place to help prevent teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases; and

WHEREAS, in 2015, the Board of Education passed Sexual Health Education Policy No. 103.5, which requires sexual health education to include abstinence, contraception, and methods of infection prevention to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection; and

     WHEREAS, according to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Study of high school students, slightly over 21 percent of Hawaii's students are sexually active, but the rate of their use of condoms is the lowest among their peers in the surveyed states; and

     WHEREAS, studies show that programs that make condoms accessible help to increase condom use, delay sexual initiation, and reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases; and

     WHEREAS, condoms are a highly effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy and to reduce the likelihood of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV; and

     WHEREAS, the Institute of Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association have adopted policies that recommend condoms to be made available to high school students as part of a comprehensive school health program; and

     WHEREAS, condoms may be inaccessible to students without resources; and

WHEREAS, students who live in rural communities may encounter issues with confidentiality, convenience, or cost; and

     WHEREAS, allowing health education teachers to give out condoms in high schools may encourage sexually active students to practice safe sex; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that Hawaii's Board of Education is urged to consider policies to allow high school health education teachers to distribute condoms and other prophylactic devices to high school students as a way to promote safe sexual practices; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Condom distribution; Board of Education