According to a UPI news report, a recent pilot program implemented by the Washington, D.C. Department of Health found that 13% of high school students who opted for testing were positive for a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The study involved 3,000 students in eight Washington, D.C. high schools. As part of the program, students attended a lecture about STIs and provided a voluntary urine sample for testing. The alarmingly high number of STIs, especially gonorrhea and chlamydia, among the teenagers, has prompted the Washington, D.C. school system to expand the pilot program to all students. The optional STI screening program is also being implemented or considered by school systems in New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and Baltimore.

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