More than 1 in 6 teenagers who gave birth in Texas in 2020 already had a child.
While teenage birth rates have declined significantly across the country in recent decades, Texas remains above the national average, consistently ranking in the top 10 states. Out of all births in Texas, around 6% were teen births in 2019 and 2020.
And a startling proportion of teenagers who gave birth in Texas in 2020 — more than 1 in 6 — already had at least one other child. Analysis by The Texas Tribune using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Texas had the highest rate of these so-called “repeat teen births” in the country, along with Alabama. In the last decade, the state has been in the top five states for repeat teen birth rates.
In 2020, the Texas State
Board of Education overhauled its sex education standards for the first time in two decades. While schools still must stress abstinence, starting this year, seventh and eighth graders will also have to learn about other birth control methods
Ṫhe board declined to require districts to teach about sexual orientation, gender identity and consent. And after a change by the Legislature, all sex education in Texas is now “opt-in,” meaning parents must proactively enroll their students in these classes.
Texas Values, a right-leaning group that advocates for abstinence-only education, said they heard from more than 22,000 parents concerned that teaching comprehensive sex education would end up encouraging more teens to have sex.