(AIDS&HIV, Year). This same source reported that as of December 2000, 480 children between the ages of five and twelve were diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS (AIDS&HIV, Age). Statistics filled with startling numbers like these bring new and overwhelming importance to the issue of AIDS awareness, AIDS education, and the overall need for sex education at the elementary school grade levels. The only cure that currently exits for AIDS is education (TSED 1). According to the New York State Education Department, implementing strong educational programs early enough in schools will help decrease the spread of AIDS (TSED 1). We need to teach children early about the risks and real transmissions of AIDS in order to have success in the fight against this disease. The issue of AIDS awareness and prevention are strong enough to allocate the need for age-appropriate sex education programs beginning in the elementary schools. .
A second important reason for implementing sex education in the elementary schools is to help reduce the teenage pregnancy rates in America. Teenage pregnancy and the negative outcomes associated with it have risen to an all-time high in America. According to Planned Parenthood, one million teenagers become pregnant each year (RTP). Planned Parenthood has also reported that in 1999, the youngest mother they had treated for the year was only twelve years of age (RTP). This child, who at age twelve could very easily still be in the elementary school grades, was pregnant before even technically starting her teenage years (RTP). Planned Parenthood has also reported that four out of every five teenagers have had sex at least once (RTP). Teen mothers themselves are less likely to finish high school than their peers are. Teenage mothers usually live in poverty and depend heavily upon welfare and other forms of public assistance for their survival (RTP). Strong initiatives need to be taken to reduce teen pregnancy and the negative outcomes associated with it (RTP).
