A new statewide plan for teen sexual health likely will recommend school instruction about healthy relationships.

Lack of information about dating and other behaviors that lead to sex is one of the largest issues facing teens today, participants in a Thursday public forum said. About 70 adults and teens met to brainstorm suggestions for Gov. Ted Kulongoski's new teen pregnancy prevention and sexual health plan, scheduled for release in fall 2007. Jackson County was one of three pilot sites around the state selected last year to gather data for the project.

The group also heard results of a recent research effort that surveyed more than 2,000 teens ages 13 to 19 in the Ashland, Medford, Phoenix-Talent and Eagle Point school districts. Members of the local Youth Action Research Team also were charged with reporting back to the governor.

"The main thing that surprised me the most is they want to hear more about the communication," said Stacy Petersen, a Crater High School health teacher.

More teens at Ashland High School said they wanted information in their health classes about communication and dating than about contraception methods and abstinence, according to a survey conducted by Ashland seniors Samantha Darnell and Bridget Palmesano.

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The two reported Thursday that 35 percent of their fellow students surveyed said they wished their health class taught healthy relationship skills. Another 29 percent said they wanted to learn communication skills, and 20 percent favored dating skills compared with 7 percent that wanted to learn more about birth control. Seven percent wanted more information on abstinence.

"It seemed we used to define adolescent sexual health as what we did not want people to do," said Maggie Sullivan, forum presenter and education program coordinator for Planned Parenthood of Jackson County.

Local teen pregnancy rates have seen a steady decline within the past 15 years although the county's percentage of 11th graders having sexual intercourse — 45 percent — is just slightly higher than the statewide average, according to the 2005 Oregon Healthy Teens Survey. The number of local teens who used contraception, however, was greater than the statewide rate for both eighth and 11th graders last year.

"First of all, our kids are a lot smarter than some of us used to be," said Hank Collins, forum presenter and director of the county's department of health and human services.

"And second of all, we've made contraceptives widely available."

Yet the majority of forum participants said teens are still too isolated from their parents, the community and necessary information about sex.

Of 65 teens surveyed at Ashland High School, 70 percent said they had never talked to their parents or guardians about sex while 53 percent said their parents were not initiating conversations along those lines.

Petersen said she wanted to redevelop a unit on communication previously dropped from her curriculum on account of budget cuts. One brainstorming group advocated more state and local resources directed toward teen and parent education about sexual health. Another team suggested a tax credit for parents who complete classes on how to educate their children.

Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail slemon@mailtribune.com.