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Mississippi’s sex ed law, known as House Bill 999, prohibits condom demonstrations in classrooms. In 201 , Sanford Johnson, Deputy Director at Mississippi First, participated in a teacher training on the abstinence-plus curriculum Draw the Line/Respect the Line through Mississippi First’s work with CHART (Creating Healthy and Responsible Teens).

House Bill 999 (HB 999) mandated that all public school districts adopt a sexuality education policy starting the 2012-2013 school year.CHART is one of the policies that school districts can adopt to be in compliance with HB 999. Today, 28 school districts across Mississippi have adopted CHART. As we reflect on our work with CHART over the last three years, we discovered two obstacles that greatly impact the ability of school districts to implement sex education across our state.

Mississippi First is proud to announce the launch of the Mississippi Youth Council (MYCouncil). Members of MYCouncil take a grassroots approach to comprehensive sexuality education and other related sexual and reproductive health issues by mobilizing communities to speak out and get involved in an issue that is extremely important to young people today.

Dear Slate, Cosmopolitan, Wonkette, Salon, and others interested in the “Peppermint Pattie” story:

We appreciate your sudden interest in our fight here in Mississippi to ensure that children get medically accurate, evidence-based, and age-appropriate sex education in their public schools. We are writing to tell you that facts matter, whether in a sex education curriculum or in a national news item.