--- description: The school is now considering expanding its sex-education program beyond abstinence title: Chlamydia Outbreak Hits Texas High School With Abstinence-Only Sex-Ed Program image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Infectious Disease](/tag/infectious-disease/) ## Infectious Disease Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chlamydia Outbreak Hits Texas High School With Abstinence-Only Sex-Ed Program by [Tim Nudd / People](/author/people/) ## Tim Nudd / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 7, 2015 10:03 AM CUT by [Tim Nudd / People](/author/people/) ## Tim Nudd / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 7, 2015 10:03 AM CUT A West Texas high school is considering expanding its sex-education program beyond teaching abstinence after 20 cases of chlamydia were confirmed among students this week. “We do have an abstinence curriculum, and that evidently ain’t working,” Jim Rumage, superintendent for the Crane Independent School District, told [KFOR-TV](http://kfor.com/2015/05/05/cdc-chlamydia-outbreak-at-texas-high-school-at-epidemic-proportions/ "undefined") about the outbreak at Crane High School. “We need to do all we can,” he added, “although it’s the parents’ responsibility to educate their kids on sexual education.” With a school population of about 300, roughly one in 15 students has the sexually transmitted disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the outbreak a health issue of “epidemic proportions.” Rumage defended the school’s sex-ed program – three days of abstinence-only advocacy each fall – in a separate interview with the _San Antonio Express-News_. “If kids are not having any sexual activity, they can’t get this disease … That’s not a bad program,” he said. Some residents are already clearly unnerved by the outbreak, which was so severe that the district sent letters home to parents last week. “I have a kid. Honestly, I don’t want my kid growing up in an area where nasty stuff like that happens,” one resident told [KWES-TV](http://www.newswest9.com/story/28958115/crane-isd-sending-letters-to-parents-about-chlamydia-outbreak "undefined"). School district officials met on Monday to discuss possible changes to the sex-ed teachings. Any changes would have to be approved by the school board in a vote on May 19. _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/chlamydia-outbreak-crane-high-school-texas-sex-education "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com/people/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3849939/chlamydia-outbreak-texas-abstinence-sex-ed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3849939/chlamydia-outbreak-texas-abstinence-sex-ed/"},"headline":"Chlamydia Outbreak Hits Texas High School With Abstinence-Only Sex-Ed Program","datePublished":"2015-05-07T10:03:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:00:02.897Z","description":"The school is now considering expanding its sex-education program beyond abstinence","url":"https://time.com/3849939/chlamydia-outbreak-texas-abstinence-sex-ed/","keywords":["Infectious Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tim Nudd / People"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3849939/chlamydia-outbreak-texas-abstinence-sex-ed/","name":"Chlamydia Outbreak Hits Texas High School With Abstinence-Only Sex-Ed Program"}}]}] ```