MCPS Invites Community To Talks About Condom Initiative

ROCKVILLE, MD — A recent decision by the Montgomery County school board will give high school students across the district easy access to condoms, and students and parents with questions about the program might soon find answers in two upcoming community conversations.

The school board voted unanimously to push the condom initiative in light of recently released CDC data that reports syphilis cases nearly doubled, gonorrhea cases increased by 67 percent and chlamydia remained at record highs between 2013 and 2017.

The school said on its website Tuesday that Montgomery County has seen a significant rise in STIs among youth between 15- and 19-years-old. The district calls the rise in STI rates a health crisis.

Starting Oct. 1, 2018, health rooms in all MCPS high schools will offer condoms in an effort to fight the spread of infections.

MCPS has published a list of frequently asked questions to help students and parents who may have questions about the condom program. According to the FAQ list, students who ask about condoms will be educated on topics including how to correctly use condoms to prevent the transmission of STIs and how to properly store the prophylaxis.

Students and parents who have questions about the implementation of the condom distribution are encouraged to attend a virtual community engagement event this Thursday, Sept. 27, or an in-person event on Thursday, Oct. 4. These events are intended to teach the MCPS community more about condom availability and sexual health education.

The virtual engagement event will be held at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27. Community members can attend the event in several ways:

• By video: The event will be streaming live on this page
• By phone: English line: 888 603-9621 Passcode: 7497624
• Spanish line: 800-619-7592 Passcode: 6526616
• On TV: Comcast Ch. 34, Verizon Ch. 36
• En Español: Comcast Ch. 33
• Community members can submit their questions through the form on this page beginning now and throughout the broadcast. Community members can also text questions to 724-990 8433 (standard data and text rates apply).

The in-person community conversation will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 4 at the Carver Educational Service Center at 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville. Interpretation services will be available.

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Sexual health services are provided by the Montgomery County Health Department, which also staffs MCPS health rooms. Condoms will be available to all MCPS high school students on Oct. 1

The county health department will depend on a state-provided ration of 4,000 condoms a month, The Washington Post reported. If more are needed, the district can purchase them at an estimated $90 per 1,000, health department spokeswoman told The Post.

Read more:

• Rising STD Rates Spur Push For Condoms In Montgomery County
• Condoms Approved For All Montgomery County High Schools
• STI Rates Increasing In Montgomery County: Officials

The Washington Post reports nearby Virginia counties of Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William do not offer condoms, but that Prince William students can obtain condoms at four county clinics for high schoolers. Alexandria, Virginia, meanwhile, offers birth control at a clinic at T.C. Williams High School.

The Post, citing federal data, reported that present day teens forego condoms at a higher rate than students in 2015. In Maryland, 43 percent of students reported not using a condom in 2017, a rise from 39 percent two years prior.

>>> Learn more about MCPS's condom initiative here.

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