The school district presented a Board Policy and Administrative Regulation (BP-AR) mandating the availability of condoms through the Wellness Center at the Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 22. The goal of the BP-AR, officially called BP-AR Sexually Transmitted Infections and Pregnancy Prevention, is to prevent sexually transmitted infections and student pregnancies.

The BP-AR must be brought up at three different Board of Education meetings before it can be passed. The second reading will be at the meeting on Feb. 12, and the date of the third reading has yet to be decided.

Students would be encouraged to attend a brief educational session from a trained staff person prior to receiving condoms for the first time, but not required, district nurse Carol Menz said.

“By making condoms available, we are improving access so students can have them when they need them,” Menz said.”In addition to providing education on condom use, we would like students to know that we are available to address other questions or concerns that they may have regarding sexual or reproductive health.”

The condoms would come in a package that would also include lubricant, instructions on how to use it, and other educational materials.

Students have advocated for the introduction of such a policy since 1994, Menz said.

“I think it’s a great idea to have condoms for students at the Wellness Center,” senior Christian Hohener said. “I feel like sometimes students are too lazy to go get a condom, so they have no birth control at all.”

Menz also said that there are often many hurdles for students getting condoms.

“Money, transportation, and embarrassment can all be barriers for students,” Menz said.

Hohener said that he believes more people will use condoms if they are available at the Wellness Center.

“It’s a lot easier to grab a condom during brunch or lunch than to go to the store and buy some,” Hohener said.

Menz said that she hopes this policy would help normalize the conversation around safe sex.

“We want people to know that we are trusted adults on campus who students can come to talk to anytime in a way that doesn’t have to feel weird,” district nurse Amy Jo Goldfarb said.

Menz said that prior to working as the district nurse for Piedmont, she saw the value of this policy being introduced.

“As a parent and having worked as a midwife and with pregnant teens in the past, it was something I felt should be introduced,” Menz said.

Menz said that she thinks that the public health data, the rights of minors to access services and resources, the research of the success of condom availability programs in other settings, and our local data create a very compelling argument.

“We also know that other school districts with whom we collaborate all the time have implemented plans like this already; it’s not unique,” Goldfarb said. “When you know that there’s a best practice, it makes sense to use it.”