Rep Sally Kern Defends Federal Funded Abstinence Programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 13, 2006

Contact: State Representative Sally Kern
Capitol: (405) 557-7348
Oklahoma City: (405) 942-3504

Teachers' Union Attacks Oklahoma Values

OKLAHOMA CITY (October 13, 2006) - Rather than support parental and local community efforts to deter teenage sexual activity, the National Education Association is actively undermining those initiatives, state Rep. Sally Kern said today.

"There's no doubt that abstinence is the best way for teenagers to avoid the pitfalls of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, but the NEA and its surrogates apparently don't want that message taught to our children," said Kern, an Oklahoma City Republican and former public school teacher.

A new report cosponsored by the National Education Association with the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) attacks abstinence programs and calls for federal lawmakers to cut funding to the programs.

Although the NEA report claims abstinence programs do not work, Kern noted other studies conducted by both the federal government and public universities have found abstinence programs do deter sexual activity among teenagers.

"Frankly, sex education decisions should be made at the local level and I don't know why a labor union feels the need to interfere,"
Kern said.

She urged Oklahoma teachers who support local control and community values to contact the Oklahoma Education Association, the local state affiliate of the NEA, and voice their opposition to the union's anti-abstinence efforts.

This is not the first time the OEA and its affiliates have worked to undermine the teachers and communities the group claims to represent, Kern noted.

Although Oklahoma's teacher retirement system is one of the worst funded in the nation, the OEA actually lobbied - successfully - to kill a bill that would have poured millions of dollars into the system this year.

The legislation, which would have placed millions of dollars in surplus funds into the retirement system, passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 92-3, but the OEA successfully lobbied Senate leaders to kill the bill without a vote.

In addition, when state lawmakers tried to boost the salaries of veteran teachers by up to $3,800 this year, the OEA successfully lobbied to slash the pay raise.

As a result, teachers with only a year's experience in Oklahoma now receive roughly $4,800 more than their Texas counterparts, but Oklahoma teachers with 20 years' experience are paid approximately $3,800 less than Texas teachers with the same experience.

The OEA's actions mean Oklahoma will continue to have trouble retaining its veteran teachers in the education market, Kern noted.

"The OEA has actively opposed every serious plan that would benefit experienced teachers and retired educators, and now they are opposing common-sense and community values by targeting abstinence programs," Kern said. "I don't know who the union represents, but it sure isn't the teachers or parents I know."

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