School board Approves Free Condom Distribution at Stevens

Members of the Claremont School Board voted Wednesday night to approve a free condom distribution policy at Stevens High School in response in response to the city’s high rate of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.

Under the modified policy, the school’s nurse, or an adult designated by the principal, will be “responsible for condom distribution to (Stevens) students as long as their parents or guardians have given permission to their son or daughter to participate in the program.”

The school will also be responsible for providing educational materials and information regarding the “appropriate use of condoms, and their relative effectiveness in disease and pregnancy prevention,” according to the Eagle Times.

Claremont ranks among the highest municipalities in the state in teen pregnancy and STDs, though school officials have acknowledged the new policy is only “part of the solution.” The age of consent in New Hampshire is 16.