The North Carolina Senate on Tuesday voted 2521 to approve a bill (S. 221) that would require public school systems in the state to offer a sex education curriculum that includes information on abstinence, contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections, the WinstonSalem Journal reports. Currently, only two public school systems in the state offer comprehensive sex education, with the rest teaching abstinenceonly curricula. Under the bill, parents would be able to have their children removed from the comprehensive portions of the program (Romoser, WinstonSalem Journal, 6/24). The bill would apply to students in seventh through ninth grade (AP/VirginianPilot, 6/23).

The bill includes several changes from an earlier version that was approved by the state House. The measure now returns to the House, where lawmakers will decide whether to approve the Senates changes (WinstonSalem Journal, 6/24).

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