Earlier this week, the Associated Press' Kevin Freking covered the astonishingly high number of states that have withdrawn from the federal government's Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage funding scheme. Freking reported that just 28 states are still participating in the federal funding, meaning that 23 (22 states and the District of Columbia) are out.

The Administration of Children and Families (ACF), which is currently overseeing the collapse of this hallmark initiative of the Gingrich Congress, says that the following states are participating for Fiscal Year 2008: AL, AZ, AR, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MS, MO, NE, NV, NH, NC, ND, OK, OR, SC, SD, TX, UT, and WV. ACF has also indicated that it is aware that Arizona and Iowa will not be participating after the end of the current fiscal year.

Thus, at this moment even according to ACF's rosy, "by-the-letter" optimism, half the states have sent the message that they will not be participating by October of this year.

Freking's inquiry was sparked by SIECUS' own research -- to be released in our annual SIECUS State Profiles publication -- which shows that an additional two states, at a minimum, will also reject abstinence-only funding. That brings the number of states opting out to 27. All told, our calculations are showing that nearly $24 million will be turned down by states next year.

As recently as September of 2005, California stood alone in rejecting ab-only funds, until Maine joined in. In those early days, most people thought it impossible that we would end up with more than half the states rebuffing the federal program and its promise of easy money. But, as Freking reports, participation has dropped 40% in just two years. The strong and clear message coming from the states is that this is, at best, a floundering program growing weaker by the minute.

States Opt Out for Both Substantive and Administrative Reasons

The challenge in the present moment, however, is that the reasons for reaching this critical mass of states are complex and diverse. Some are outright rejections; states telling Washington they don't want money for junk programs when they desperately need funds for effective programs, including comprehensive sex education. Others are not participating for administrative reasons. The program has been hobbling along on short term extensions from Congress that make budgeting and implementation at the state level difficult. Others have submitted comprehensive applications that are deliberately non-compliant with the strict definitions of what must be taught such that these applications also send a clear message of what states want and need.

Congress Considers Yet Another Extension

Congress is currently mulling an extension of the Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program that may prolong the program's life for a year or longer. This would be the longest extension granted by Congress since the original authorization of the program expired in 2002. That seems an odd parting gift for the 111th Congress to give a program in collapse. Further, because the longer extension creates fewer administrative hurdles to using the money, a few states not participating for these reasons are likely to again accept the funds.

This Congress still has time to remedy its record on sex education by abolishing the program in one fell swoop. But if Congress feels the need to extend it (and they do because it seems inextricably linked to another priority piece of legislation), it should do so for a very short period of time and give a new Congress and a new President an opportunity for a fresh look.

States Lead the Way

States are leading the way. They're already making the paradigm shift: they're embracing a more comprehensive approach to sex education. In fact, our research shows that for the first time since 1998, there are a handful of states that are totally free of any federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. Coupled with the repudiation of the Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage program from coast to coast, we have more than just a trend on our hands -- we have a virtual watershed.

It is much too early to celebrate. It took a quarter of a century for the abstinence-only-until-marriage industry to reach its zenith and it will not disappear overnight. But we are making enormous progress.

And there is one more new trend that should lend substance to my optimism: the abstinence-only-until-marriage industry itself seems to have tossed in the towel on defending its own programs. The lobbying arm of the industry, the National Abstinence Education Association, now rarely speaks of the benefits of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs at all, focusing instead on demonizing the majority of Americans who support a more comprehensive approach to sex education as condom pushers and purveyors of promiscuity. That is the exact type of dishonest, fear-based, culture war blather that the nation has seen too much of since the ascendancy of the religious right some three decades ago. It's tired and a bit pathetic.