A primary goal for South Carolina Parents Involved in Education (SC PIE) is assuring sex education in public schools reflects parents' and communities' values. SC PIE has a strong public record of support for the promotion of abstinence education and SC PIE staff has expertise in the development and implementation of National Abstinence Clearinghouse-approved curriculum.

The SC PIE Abstinence Education Project is currently funded through a grant from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The Project is being implemented in the middle and high schools of Marlboro County and through training other adults in the county who are connected to adolescents. Communitywide efforts target specific adult populations in order to institute a culture of support and advocacy for abstinence-outside-of-marriage.

The SC PIE Abstinence Education Project's primary target population is adolescents ages 12 - 19. Research shows that effective sexuality programs employ instructors who believe in what they are teaching and who are well trained. Therefore, the SC PIE Abstinence Education Project provides extensive training to public school teachers through a graduate course,
followed by curriculum-specific training prior to students receiving instruction in Scott & White Hospital's Worth the Wait abstinence education curriculum.

In addition to intensive teaching training, SC PIE staff will train faith leaders, parents, and public and private health care providers in Marlboro County. Cumulative county health data, related to sexual activity outside of marriage, identifies a grave health disparity in the African American population. A specific African American Faith Community Component of the SC PIE Abstinence Education Project is geared toward affecting change in this population.