To the Editor:

In a public forum like a community newspaper, we think it is vitally important that people feel free to share their opinions and exercise their right to free speech. At the same time, we’d like to take the opportunity to correct some of the information presented in the February 27, 2013 letter to the editor about the sexual health education that is provided in 44 New Jersey school districts (“Some Princeton Students, Alumni, Take Issue With Small World’s Sponsoring of HiTOPS”) .

The referenced curriculum, is part of an evidence-based, statewide program that is developed and disseminated collaboratively by HiTOPS and the Princeton Center for Leadership Training, with support from the New Jersey Department of Health. It conforms to New Jersey Department of Education Core Curriculum Content Standards for health education, and has been rigorously vetted by state and federal expert review panels that have found it to be medically-accurate, age-appropriate, and culturally-appropriate. This comprehensive sexual health curriculum and structured program model is implemented in schools that have voluntarily chosen to do so with the approval of their local school board. In each participating school, parents are free to choose to allow their students to opt in or opt out of this program.

We are disappointed that this curriculum, which represents the highest standard of comprehensive sexual health education available today in the United States, has been described in ways that are inaccurate, out of context, and misrepresentative of the materials that experts in the field of adolescent health, pregnancy prevention, reproductive health, and pediatrics deem to encompass the best practices for a public health approach to reducing unplanned pregnancy and transmission of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases).

While the Princeton community is fortunate in so many ways, the fact remains that our nation has the highest teen pregnancy rate and higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases among teens of all developed countries. National studies report that it is not that U.S. teens are not more sexually active, but that they frequently lack the information and skills needed to evaluate their risk for unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Experts around the world agree, this approach — providing accurate, unbiased information and access to resources and care, including parental involvement — is the best approach for reducing risks and promoting health-enhancing decisions.

Elizabeth M. Casparian,

HiTOPS

Daniel F. Oscar,

Princeton Center for Leadership Training