SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Schools Plan AIDS Prevention Program

Teen-agers in the Capistrano Unified School District will soon be thinking more about the hard facts of AIDS, under a new state-mandated prevention program tentatively adopted this week.

Among the statistics educators want students to think about: One in every 250 Americans carries the AIDS virus and one person contracts HIV every 13 minutes, according to recent Centers for Disease Control figures. Reported AIDS cases nationwide have also grown by 62% among teen-agers in the past two years, and California ranks second behind New York among states with such cases, according to a recent congressional study.

On Monday, trustees tentatively approved a new HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum for students at district middle schools and high schools that will deal with such issues and more.

A new state law requires school districts to teach AIDS prevention to students in grades seven to 12 starting this school year.

During a public hearing, students, parents and trustees said they want to expand the program even more than proposed.

“This is such a critical issue, and an alarming health issue, that we need to ensure our students are informed properly and enough time is allotted for questions,” Board of Trustees President Marlene Draper said.

Under the proposed Capistrano plan, which will be subject to final approval later this month, social aspects of the disease will be discussed in coeducational settings, while topics such as how the virus is transmitted and how infection can be avoided will be discussed separately among boys and girls.

State law requires instructors to stress abstinence from sexual activity and intravenous drug use as the “most effective means for AIDS prevention.” The law also allows parents to withdraw their children from the program.

The AIDS prevention information will be taught in eighth-grade science classes and in science or biology classes in the ninth grade. Much of the learning materials approved by the trustees was provided by the American Red Cross and the Orange County Department of Education, said Barbara Smith, director of curriculum and instruction.

The Red Cross will also be sending a health expert to help give more training to teachers who will be dealing with the AIDS curriculum, Smith said.