AUSTIN (Texas) - IN SEX education classes, 94 per cent of Texas school districts teach that abstaining from sex is the only healthy option for unmarried couples, and, in many cases, students are given misleading and inaccurate information about the risks associated with sex, according to a new 72-page report.

Two percent of districts - in a state that has the third highest teen birth rate in the nation - ignore the subject completely, according to the study.

The two-year study, 'Just Say Don't Know: Sexuality Education in Texas Public Schools,' was conducted by two Texas State University researchers and funded by the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, the research arm of the Texas Freedom Network, which describes itself as 'a mainstream voice to counter the religious right.' Researchers David Wiley and Kelly Wilson, who both teach health education, examined tens of thousands of lesson plans, student handouts, speaker presentations and other related documents obtained from 990 school districts, 96 per cent of Texas' districts, through the Texas Public Information Act.

'Most of the mistruths share a common purpose, and a likely effect, and that is discouraging young people who might already be sexually active from using condoms, a message I find shocking as a professional health educator,' Mr Wiley said.

The Texas education code does not require public schools to offer sex education. But if they do, it must be abstinence-focused, and instruction about contraceptives should be couched in terms of how often they fail, according to language added to the code in 1995.

According to the study, 4 per cent of districts offer an 'abstinence-plus curriculum.' In the report, researchers documented at least one factual error in the materials received from 41 per cent of the school districts. The study's authors found instances in which districts used what they called sexist, religious and shame- or fear-based techniques during instruction. The findings include: On wearing condoms during sex, the Brady district has told teens, 'Well if you insist on killing yourself by jumping off a bridge, at least wear these elbow pads.' The Edinburg school district policy states, 'Students should be informed that homosexual acts are illegal in Texas and highly correlated with the transmission of AIDS.' The Eanes school district provided students with contradictory information from the Austin-based Medical Institute for Sexual Health about the effectiveness of condoms in preventing sexually transmitted diseases.

Dale Whitaker a spokesperson with the Eanes school district, said in an e-mailed statement that the materials cited were not part of the curriculum, but ancillary. The curriculum materials, she said, were last reviewed in 2005.

State lawmakers have filed several bills this session that would require schools to provide scientifically accurate information in sex education. A bill filed on Tuesday by state Senator Kirk Watson, D-Austin, would also require that parents be notified about the content of sex education classes.

Amanda Brown, program director for Austin Lifeguard, which provides curricula to districts, said that her program strives to use the latest information available from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Ms Brown said Ms Miller didn't respond to an invitation to learn more about Lifeguard's programs.

Not all school districts were criticized by the report's authors. The Hays school district was one of a few praised for its sex education content and the training it provides teachers. -- AP