CHART Policy 2012

CHART PAGE CONTENTS

• The Teen Health Crisis in Mississippi
• About C.H.A.R.T.
• About PREP
• HB999, Mississippi's Sex Ed Law
• Model Policy
• Curricula, Training, and Technical Assistance
• Advocacy
• CHART Districts

 

The Teen Health Crisis in Mississippi

Teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are major public health issues in the state of Mississippi. Our state teen birth rate—64.1 births for every 1,000 teenage (15-19-year- old) girls in 2009—is the highest in the nation. Mississippi also leads the nation in teen infection rates for gonorrhea and Chlamydia. These alarming rates have far-reaching consequences. Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school, adding to an already troubling school dropout crisis. Children of teen parents are more likely to grow up below the poverty line, have lower academic achievement, and drop out of school. Teen childbearing also affects local economies through increased need for public services and decreased lifetime earnings for teen parents. Finally, teenagers infected with gonorrhea and Chlamydia face a greater risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. The tremendous need to reduce teen birth rates and sexually transmitted infection rates is undeniable.

To read more about the research, evidence-based curricula, or find online resources, visit our Sex Education Resource Page. 

County-level information on the teen births and their economic impact can be found using our County-by-County Map.

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About C.H.A.R.T.

The Creating Healthy and Responsible Teens (CHART) Initiative was created by Mississippi First in conjunction with the Mississippi State Department of Health to reduce teen pregnancy, improve teen sexual health, and increase responsible decision-making. The CHART Initiative works with Mississippi school districts to increase adoption and implementation of comprehensive or “abstinence-plus” sex education policies and evidence-based, medically accurate, and age-appropriate programs.

CHART is not a curriculum, and neither Mississippi First nor the Mississippi State Department of Health is trying to sell curriculum or any services to school districts. Rather, CHART brings resources, tools, and technical assistance to districts free of cost through the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grant.

For more information about CHART or to participate in CHART advocacy, please email Deputy Director Sanford Johnson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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About PREP

In March 2011, Mississippi was awarded over $2M to implement CHART with Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) grant funds. PREP is a federal grant administered by the Mississippi State Department of Health to support teen pregnancy prevention efforts in Mississippi public schools and communities. School districts that adopt of the CHART Model Policy are eligible for assistance from PREP to pay for curricula, staff training, and on-going technical assistance from the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Bureau of Community and School Health. For more information about PREP, visit the Mississippi State Department of Health's PREP page.

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HB999, Mississippi's Sex Ed Law

After the CHART Initiative began in July 2010, the Mississippi Legislature passed House Bill 999 (HB999) in the 2011 legislative session. The purpose of HB999 is to regulate sex education in Mississippi’s public schools. (To read the full text of HB999, look here.) The passage of HB999 had some important consequences for the implementation of the CHART Initiative because the law sets forth new requirements that every public school district in Mississippi must follow but does not provide any new funding for implementation.

CHART ADVANTAGE: The CHART Initiative, with support from the PREP grant, enables school districts to implement the state’s new sex education law, House Bill 999, at no cost.

Every CHART district must follow HB999. See the CHART Implementation Guide to learn more about HB999's requirements.

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Model Policy

To participate in CHART, school districts must adopt an "abstinence-plus" sex education policy such as the CHART Model Policy that Mississippi First developed for this purpose. The policy has been reviewed and approved by the Bureau of Community and School Health at the Mississippi State Department of Health and is also posted for district use on the Office of Healthy Schools' website at the Mississippi Department of Education.

Please contact Sanford Johnson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for help with the policy.

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Curricula, Training, and Technical Assistance

With the passage of House Bill 999, school districts must adopt and implement a sex education policy. However, the bill provided no additional funding to school districts to carry out this mandate. Fortunately, the hard work of Mississippi First and the Mississippi State Department of Health to secure federal Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) dollars will allow districts choosing to implement CHART to do so at no cost. PREP will pay for districts to receive curricula, training for relevant staff, and on-going technical assistance from the Mississippi State Department of Health's Bureau of Community and School Health.

Districts hoping to receive resources funded by PREP must first adopt an "abstinence-plus" sex education policy. Then districts must commit to implementing a curriculum on the Mississippi State Department of Health’s list of approved curricula, which are drawn from the 31 evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention interventions recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Since House Bill 999 requires all school-based sex education curricula to be approved by the Mississippi Department of Education, the curricula on the Mississippi State Department of Health's list have also been approved by the Mississippi Department of Education's Office of Healthy Schools. ONLY curricula on both the Mississippi Department of Education's and the Mississippi State Department of Health's lists will be eligible for CHART implementation.

List of Approved CHART Curricula (Mississippi State Department of Health AND Mississippi Department of Education Approved)

Middle School Programs

Draw the Line/Respect the Line

High School Programs

Reducing the Risk

List of Additional Recommended CHART Curricula (Mississippi State Department of Health Approved, Pending Approval from the Mississippi Department of Education)

In addition to the approved curricula listed above, we are still hoping to secure approval for the following MSDH-recommended curricula in the near future to provide more choices to school districts.

Middle School Programs

It's Your Game: Keep it Real

Promoting Health Among Teens (PHAT)

High School Programs

Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART)

To participate in CHART, please email Deputy Director Sanford Johnson at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Advocacy