New York City Schools’ AIDS Education Not in Compliance With Statewide Mandate, Report Says
New York City schools have violated state mandates on HIV/AIDS education, according to a report released on Wednesday by the New York AIDS Coalition, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports. The report, titled "A Call for Reform: Strengthening HIV/AIDS Education in New York City's Public Schools," found that the schools have failed to meet guidelines requiring students in grades six through 12 to receive six HIV/AIDS lessons per year and guidelines requiring students in kindergarten through grade five to receive five AIDS-related lessons per year. In addition, the report said that health resource sites in city high schools and AIDS education seminars for parents are not in full compliance with state rules. The report recommends that the school system update its HIV/AIDS lessons, employ well-trained personnel to teach the lessons and improve oversight and evaluation procedures to better ensure compliance, according to the AP/Newsday. "Examining the stipulations of the mandate one by one reveals that the school system is not in full compliance," the report said, adding, "These grave inadequacies exist in the face of increasing HIV infections among youth." Department of Education spokesperson Eileen Murphy said that "teaching New York City students about HIV/AIDS and its prevention is critical. ... We are working continually to improve and update our HIV curriculum to make it as current and user-friendly as possible" (Gray, AP/Long Island Newsday, 1/8).
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