Dear members of the Louisiana legislature:

By now I'm sure you've heard about the school in Delhi, Louisiana that was requiring its "suspected pregnant" female students to take a pregnancy test. If those tests were positive, the girls would be immediately expelled from the school.

Shortly after this made headlines and people from all over the US voiced their opposition, Delhi Charter School reversed its policy. It was the right move, but the reversal doesn't take attention away from the fact that something is seriously wrong within Louisiana's educational system. If educators truly believe that pregnant teens don't deserve an equal education as their peers, we've got even bigger problems.

It's counterintuitive to say that teen parents don't deserve the right to education. In fact, teen parents are the ones who need the most support. Forcing them to choose between raising a child and receiving an education makes absolutely no sense.

I'm writing to ask that you draft legislation that aims at educating teens on birth control and safe sex, while encouraging schools in your state to abide by the civil rights laws that have been enacted to stop discrimination of this kind.

Thank you for your consideration.