Support SB 6305/HB 2698 - Let Washington Decide!
Currently, Washington’s Department of Health is required to apply for Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage education funding from the federal government (RCW 74.12.410) regardless of any strings attached to those funds. In 2007 the Washington State Legislature passed the Healthy Youth Act to ensure quality sexual health education that includes medically accurate information about both abstinence and contraception. Washington’s Department of Health received $814,633 in Title V abstinence-only federal funding in 2007. The requirements tied to these funds have become more stringent and teaching abstinence only, to the exclusion of other information, is now inconsistent with our new state law. The state’s current application for Title V funds was rejected because it was written to comply with our new state law which the Federal government found unacceptable. Regardless, under RCW 74.12.410 our state would need to continue applying for these funds. SB 6305/HB 2698 does not preclude Washington from applying for this federal funding, especially if the restrictions tied to the funds are changed. What it does is untie our hands and allow our state to make the decisions that are right for us. Governors from 16 States have publicly rejected Title V Federal Funding, while Washington’s law does not allow for thoughtful decision making based on current research. Both Congress[1] and the United States Government Accountability Office[2] have studied abstinence-only programs funded with Title V federal dollars and found that they do not delay sexual activity or reduce rates of pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. SB 6305/HB 2698 would simply change Washington’s law from saying we “shall” apply for Title V funds to say we “may” apply, preserving our commitment to use federal programs when they make sense for Washington, but releasing us from mandatory compliance with changeable federal requirements. The Solution: Support SB 6305/HB 2698 - Let Washington Decide!
[1]U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform. The Content of Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Education Programs, Prepared for Rep.Henry A. Waxman. Washington, DC: Author, 2004. [2]United States Government Accountability Office. Abstinence Education: Efforts to Assess the Accuracy and Effectiveness of Federally Funded Programs. [GAO-07-87] Washington, DC: Author, October 2006.
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