NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts Members to Show Support at Hearing Boston, MA – The Joint Committee on Education will hear testimony today on An Act Providing Health Education in Schools (S. 288, H. 597), commonly known as the Health Education Bill. This bill is sponsored by Senator Ed Augustus and Representative Alice Wolf. NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts Executive Director Melissa Kogut released the following statement:
"Today, the Joint Committee on Education will hear testimony on an important bill for public health and education. The Health Education Bill would insert health education, as defined by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks, into the core curriculum for public schools.
"Health education saves lives, and NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts supports the Department of Education's curriculum standards for health education.
"Members of the legislature have expressed concerns about the potential cost of comprehensive health education in Massachusetts. Our research shows that these costs are nominal. In Brockton, Falmouth, and North Adams, the sample school districts we evaluated, comprehensive health education (including physical education costs) made up less than 3% of the total amount spent per pupil, averaging about 2.23%. Overall, this analysis shows that comprehensive health education programs in Massachusetts public schools do not have to be expensive and neither does their implementation.
"We urge the Joint Committee on Education to issue a favorable report on the Health Education Bill."
NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts is the state's leading advocate for privacy and a woman's right to choose. For more information, please visit our website at www.prochoicemass.org.
