Interesting ALS as the Governor of Arkansas, signed “Best, Bill,” three pages on two sheets, 7.25 x 10.5, Governor's Mansion letterhead, April 3, no year but circa 1980. Letter to Joanne Sullivan, in full: "Thanks for your letter. I loved going to your school and talking with your child and the other students. I did not say to the reporter that 'teachers should not make the moral decision' for the students. He asked whether I thought students would conclude that premarital sex was permissible from the very fact of sex education being taught in the schools and therefore that teachers had an obligation to teach that premarital sex was a sin—I replied that I thought a responsibly taught sex education (a misnomer probably) course would not give students the information that premarital sex was OK, that students would be more likely to do the responsible, right thing, but that we had to be careful in public schools not to become involved in teaching any particular religious beliefs—The young man just misunderstood. What I think we should do is to explain to children at an appropriate age—I'd say 9th grade or 10th—maybe before—how their bodies work—we had it 17 years ago in Hot Spring in 10th grade biology—No one thought it was wrong. If you learn how plants & frogs work and reproduce why not people?—I think children should start learning some things earlier—like the harmful effects of alcohol and drug abuse on the body—Also I favor other courses on the 'facts of life'—how banks work, insurance, etc etc—The soaring rate of teenage pregnancy indicates that the problem is not keeping such knowledge from vulnerable young minds—It is teaching the young why that can happen and what the consequences are—I can't believe that's wrong. Maybe it is, but interestingly the Future Homemakers group passed a resolution urging mandatory, statewide act education requirements. I favor letting local schools and school districts develop their own approaches." In fine condition. The consignor notes that this letter from Clinton was in response to a reporter misquoting him during a sex education talk he gave to students at Oak Grove High School in North Little Rock. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law the 'welfare reform act,' which appropriated $50 million in funds for school-based sex education programs that focused exclusively on abstinence as a means to prevent pregnancy and STD transmission.
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