All District of Columbia high school students will have the option of getting tested at school for sexually transmitted diseases, now that the school system plans to expand a pilot program that began last year.
The pilot program found that 13 percent of about 3,000 students tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease, most of them for gonorrhea or chlamydia. The program requires students to attend a lecture about STDs. They are invited to provide a urine sample, but are allowed to say no.
Washington’s program is similar to one in Philadelphia. School systems in New York, New Orleans, and Baltimore either already screen for sexually transmitted diseases or are about to launch pilot programs.
