Advocacy for health education is a major concern for Atlanta residents.
Recently our blog featured the impact of HIV in Atlanta communities.
Many victims of this epidemic are Black boys.
Atlanta is making history by challenging the status quo!
Patrick Saunders and Ari Bee recently reported that State Rep. Jasmine Clark’s first order of business as a lawmaker was to introduce a bill that would ensure Georgia’s K-12 students receive accurate information about HIV during sex-ed classes.
Talk about a win for our students. Especially hundreds of Black boys in Metro Atlanta.
House Bill 133 “Quality Basic Education Act” was put into action during Black History Month, February 5, 2019.
This is the type of change needed to help bring solutions to grave challenges Black boys face.
If we are truly able to teach students about HIV prevention using the most up to date and medically accurate information available then we’re not only educating them on real life situations, we’re saving their lives!
“Based on the latest available data, the number of cases of new infections is highest in the 13-24 year age range. These are our students!”
Family and community engagement are key to the success of students in school.
Rep. Clark is also a parent in Georgia. Her children will also soon be taking sex education courses.
Schools play a major role in health education.
“I want to make sure that my children and their peers are also being given accurate and timely information as well,” states Rep. Clark on her views as a parent.
Clark has a PhD in Microbiology from Emory. She’s also a published retrovirology researcher, she did postdoctoral work on the HIV virus and she lectures at the Emory School of Nursing.
Jason has worked in education for over 15 years as a teacher, blogger and community advocate. He speaks and writes primarily about the need to improve education for Black boys, particularly increasing the number of Black male educators in schools. In addition to blogging here at EdLanta, Jason is also a featured writer at Education Post.
1 comment for “Atlanta is Making History By Challenging the Status Quo”