Students at Texas public schools will learn a new sex education curriculum for the first time in 20 years.

Starting this school year, students attending Texas public schools will learn new sex education topics.

A new sex education curriculum will be administered this year after the state updated its guidelines in 2020 -- the first time in two decades, according to the Texas Education Agency. These updated guidelines went into effect as part of the 2022 school year.

Historically focused on abstinence as the primary method of pregnancy prevention, the new program approved by the state's education board will include information on contraceptives, how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and healthy relationship tips.

The changes come at a time when Texas has the ninth highest teen birthrate in the country, with 22.4 births per 1,000 females between ages 15-19 in the state, the CDC reports.

Now, educators at the middle school level will include information on birth control methods when teaching about sex education, while high school teachers will include the topics in health classes. Health classes aren't required for graduation, according to the education board.

Parents have to fill out an opt-in form to allow their children to learn the new material, and the new curriculum doesn't include LGBTQ-related sexual health issues, The Texas Tribune reports.

These updates go along with a "parental bill of rights" proposal by Gov. Greg Abbott to give parents more say in their children's education. However, many parental protections already exist, like Senate Bill 9 passed last year which allows parents to choose if their kids can learn about family violence, child abuse prevention and sex trafficking.