By Dale James

Editor

If Marshall County parents have any qualms about the family life classes to be offered to area eighth-graders beginning in January, it was not apparent from the number of people attending last week's question-and-answer session at the board of education offices.

Fewer than half a dozen parents braved the early evening traffic to find out exactly what will and won't be discussed when Marshall County schools began teaching the state-mandated course of instruction.

The state requires the classes whenever the pregnancy rate in a county exceeds 19.5 per 1,000 among girls ages 15-17. During 2006, there were 17 reported cases of pregnancy among Marshall County girls that age, according to the Tennessee Department of Health's Division of Health Statistics. That translates into a rate of 27.7 per 1,000.

Heather Lodari, coordinator of school health ...for full coverage of this story, pick up a December 19th edition.