Binders, pens and notebooks are at the top of most students’ back-to-school shopping lists, but there’s another item parents should seriously consider: condoms.
Condoms may seem like a shocking addition to the checklist, but they shouldn’t be. According to the latest CDC data, nearly 20 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases in 2020 were attributable to more than half of young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
So it’s worth asking: What will millions of high school students’ access to safer sex products and contraception look like when they return to school in the fall?
Distributing condoms is part of my job, and I regularly receive condom requests from people who are concerned about whether they will get contraception when they need it. Parents often contact me to request condoms for their teens and their teens’ friends. They worry that their children won’t have access to free contraception elsewhere, and that the cost and social inconvenience of buying condoms might deter children from buying condoms. Parents have reason to worry—the CDC found in 2021 that 48 percent of U.S. high school students surveyed had not used a condom during their last sexual intercourse.
Many parents who request condoms say they want to make sure their children have the information and resources they need to choose safer sex. In 2018, the CDC found that one in five people in the United States had an STI. In 2020, young people ages 15 to 24 accounted for 53 percent of new STIs in the United States. Readily available and affordable contraception, especially condoms, is an essential measure for preventing unwanted pregnancy and STIs.
Challenges and efforts in implementing condom availability programs
Condom availability programs (CAPs) have been promoted by the CDC since the 1990s to provide free condoms in high schools. However, these programs rely on individual schools and school districts to start and implement their own programs, resulting in inconsistent implementation.
Many states do not offer sex education to students. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, only about half of 15- to 19-year-olds reported receiving sex education that met minimum standards. That’s concerning, considering that 96 percent of parents say sex education is important in high school and 84 percent want it taught in middle school.
And even schools that want to provide condoms may not have the financial resources to do so. Two-thirds of health professionals in grades K-12 report that their schools or districts do not provide any form of contraception, including condoms, to students. So many parents are left scrambling to fill these gaps.
There are some legislative initiatives that promote condom provision in schools. Last year, a bill to provide free condoms to all public high school students in California passed the state legislature, only to be vetoed by the governor due to budgetary constraints. Since current contraception programs vary from county to county, such initiatives aim to make access to condoms more equitable. On a national level, the impact of such a program would be far greater.
Preparing young people for a responsible future
Access to contraception gives young people reproductive autonomy – the ability to decide when, how and if they want to have children. Combined with family planning, this can improve college graduation rates by as much as 12 percent. Barrier methods such as condoms also help young people prevent sexually transmitted diseases and reduce the risks associated with sexual activity. By preventing unwanted pregnancies, condoms also contribute to a healthy planet in a world where a growing population means greater demand for water, land, trees and fossil fuels.
If you’re a parent of a high school student, you’re probably buying highlighters, calculators, and other supplies for the upcoming semester. But if we’re preparing our students for success in one area, why not prepare them for success in all the others? Buying condoms for teens is a healthy first step.
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