( CNN ) -- It was a rare occurrence : ninth-graders in Matthew French 's health class giving something their full attention . The students , at Los Angeles ' Miguel Contreras Learning Complex , sat at their desks watching a video . They were about to learn the sexually transmitted disease status of a California beauty queen . The teenagers laughed as the video instructed them to turn their attention to their cell phones , French recalls -- normally , it was a constant battle to get them to put the phones away . Then the video had them text a code to Qpid.me , a website that allows kids as young as 13 to find an STD clinic , get tested and have their results sent to them via text message . Moments later , the teens got a text revealing that Miss California 2009 , Tami Farrell , was negative for HIV , gonorrhea and chlamydia . Farrell is the celebrity face of Qpid.me 's new STD awareness campaign . If it 's cool for a beauty queen to share her STD status , then maybe kids will start to think it 's cool to share their own results . Site founder Ramin Bastani is banking on it . `` We want to normalize the idea of sharing your status , '' Bastani says . High-tech tools to fight STDs . A text message revealing a teenager 's positive or negative STD status may well be the latest tool -- albeit a controversial one -- to target the spread of disease among students . This past fall , Qpid.me partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District -- the second largest school system in the country , with more than 660,000 K-12 students -- to teach students as young as seventh grade how to get their STD results , show them to potential partners , and then request to see their potential partners ' results before they hook up or have sex . Sexual activity among students has long been a concern for the district . In 2005 , the Los Angeles County Health Department surveyed more than 4,000 middle-schoolers in 14 area public schools . The research showed 16 % of seventh-graders had engaged in oral sex and 20 % of eighth-graders had had intercourse . A 2011 national school-based survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Los Angeles schools found 39 % of high schoolers were having sex . The district turned to Qpid.me to try a new approach to get students tested and reduce infections . So far , 200,000 ninth- through 12th-graders and 120,000 seventh- and eighth-graders have learned about the free service in fall and spring semester health classes , according to Tim Kordic , the district 's HIV/AIDS prevention program manager . `` We do n't suspect that most seventh-graders are going to go out and use this . We do suspect that in high school they will , '' Kordic says . Critics of the partnership , however , say Qpid.me comes too close to condoning underage sex and gives an incomplete picture of someone 's STD status by excluding certain infections , like HPV and herpes . `` While we absolutely encourage sexually active teens to be tested for STDs , the underlying message of the Qpid.me campaign is troublesome , '' says Valerie Huber , president and CEO of the National Abstinence Education Association , a group that `` exists to serve , support and represent individuals and organizations in the practice of abstinence education , '' according to its website . `` It provides tacit endorsement of teen sexual activity , sending the message to teens as young as 13 that sexual experimentation is expected and risk-free as long as they are tested for STDs and use a condom , '' Huber says in a statement . The Los Angeles school district disagrees . `` We 're not using this as a lure for kids to say , 'OK , you can have sex because you did this , ' '' Kordic says . `` What we felt was that if the kids had the information that they would make better decisions about their sexual partners . '' FDA approves morning-after pill without prescription for girls 15 and older . In 2011 , Los Angeles-area youths between 13 and 19 contracted 25 % of chlamydia cases and 16 % of gonorrhea cases , according to the Los Angeles County Health Department . People under 18 made up 24.1 % of the county 's population in 2011 , according to the U.S. Census . `` So many kids are walking around with STDs and they do n't even know it , '' Kordic says . `` We definitely have an epidemic going on . '' By law , children as young as 12 in California can get tested for STDs without a parent 's consent . The district offers testing on some of its campuses , but stigma and logistical challenges , like access to a car , can keep students out of clinics . Qpid.me requires an STD test . If it catches on and students start demanding to see their partner 's verified STD status , sex educators hope it will give teens an incentive to get tested if they want to have sex . `` One of the things we 're saying is this will make you more attractive to other students potentially , '' Bastani says . `` Then the pressure is on the person who does n't have it , '' adds French , whose own students were split on whether they would actually use Qpid.me . `` We had many people saying , 'Oh , this program is dope . This is cool , ' '' says 14-year-old student Geo Morataya . `` And we had other people going like , ' I really do n't agree with this program . ' '' Morataya says he 's not sexually active yet , but some of his friends are . He told his mom about Qpid.me when he got home from school . `` She was cool letting me use stuff like this to help keep me in check -- but as long as I stay safe , '' he says . `` As long as I do n't not use protection . '' Critics also question whether students would be organized enough to get themselves to clinics or be mature enough to actually use the information before having sex . `` I 'm skeptical how often somebody will say , 'Hey , if you do n't tell me your test results then we 're not doing it , ' '' says Peter Sprigg , a senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council . `` To expect a 13-year-old , or a 15- or 17-year-old for that matter , to able to act in such a rational manner while they 're in the grip of these irrational passions is very naive and unrealistic . '' Even more progressive institutions , like Planned Parenthood , express caution . `` While we value the use of innovative tools to improve sexual health , the most powerful message we can deliver to prevent infections is to always use a condom every time you have sex , '' says Leslie Kantor , Planned Parenthood 's vice president of education . Free condoms for your 12-year-old ? California health council can help . The district says it recognizes parents may be uncomfortable with their children using technology to text and share their STD status , but notes its tech-savvy students have a different perspective . `` This is how they receive information now . This is where they go to -- their phones -- and so for them to receive it that way is n't abnormal . It 's normal , '' Kordic says . `` What we 're doing basically as adults is we 're entering their world , which we 're always trying to do . We 're always trying to figure out how do we speak their language -- use our tools , but bridge that with what they 're doing now . '' French , who 's already taught Qpid.me to about 120 students , says he did it to protect them . `` It 's just shown to them as a tool , just like a condom is a tool to prevent an STD , '' he says . `` If students are n't getting tested or are n't talking to their partners about STD status , then knowing what gonorrhea is is kind of irrelevant . '' The district says it 's too soon to know how many students are using Qpid.me . In the future , Bastani says he 'd like the service to be an educational tool used across the country . `` We 'll have the best information anywhere in the country for where students -- and anyone who wants to get tested for STDs -- can go , '' he says . `` Sometimes kids are going to forget to use condoms , sometimes they 're not going to share their status , but if there 's a resource for them to do so , I think it empowers a lot of them who are really concerned about this . ''
Qpid.me , a site that allows users to share STD status , partners with Los Angeles schools . Comment: Critics say it provides `` tacit endorsement '' for teen sexual activity . The district acknowledges it may make some parents uncomfortable .