When it comes to monitoring and ensuring the well-being of school-age children, the agendas of most parents, teachers, and public education policy makers of our nation appear to be heavily focused on topics such as bullying, drug awareness and social development. While each of these issues is very important and deserves the attention it receives, there is one topic – sex education in the public school system – that has just as much relevance among today's youth, and yet continues to not receive the same consideration. Given that underage sex is one of the nation's long-standing taboos, one might assume that effective sex education programs in the public school system are geared toward today's youth. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the case, especially for residents of the state of Florida. Reflecting the predominantly conservative mindset of the early to mid-1900s, sex education programs in Florida's education system appear to focus primarily on abstinence. -only-until-marriage” (SIECUS Support). In other words, these programs preach that completely abstaining from any sexual activity is the only way to avoid potentially devastating consequences, such as teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). While this idea may be true, it is based on the flawed premise that all adolescents will adhere to such a policy, thus eliminating the need to educate them about other precautionary measures, such as contraceptives. Unfortunately, such hopes have proven unrealistic, resulting in the need to review these programs. As with all issues, there are many stakeholders who are continually affected by Florida's lack of an effective and standardized sexual education program there. .... middle of paper ...... Deutch even said that "abstinence is the important message to start with, but it's not enough to hope that it's the only message needed" (Support SIECUS). While taxpayers may not directly experience the effects of sex education programs as much as teachers, parents, and students, it is important that they feel confident that their tax dollars are being used to support a program that better provides young people with knowledge and resources to practice safe sexual endeavors. Works Cited Pease, Jill. “Sex education in Florida schools varies greatly and is not available to all students.” University of Florida News UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA (2007): n. page News. November 5, 2007. Web. November 17, 2013. "Support SIECUS!" SIECUS. Np, nd Web. November 17. 2013. .