Text education is coming to Canadian schools, thanks to a new curriculum that sheds light on the dangers of sexually explicit mobile messages, textual harassment, and other potential pitfalls linked to youths' wireless communication.

The pilot textED.ca course will be introduced to 100 Grade 7 classrooms across the country this month, with full program implementation in September, according to a joint announcement being made Thursday by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.

The initiative, thought to be the first of its kind in Canada, aims to address what police call "an education gap" that's made young people vulnerable to a swath of text-related risks.

"It doesn't even have to pertain to an adult offender; we're seeing so much harm come to adolescents within their own peer circle, whereby they're sending nude images or inappropriate messages (by phone), and those are being transferred to a larger group of individuals," says Signy Arnason, who works with the Centre for Child Protection.

"Certainly, the goal isn't to be arresting these kids for distributing what technically is child pornography; the goal is to intervene as soon as possible . . . So what police are very excited about is that this is a real prevention tool."

Stephanie Morgan, a police detective in Kingston, Ont., says she expects the initiative will help address the education gap in texting safety, and allow officers to "focus their time being protectors more often than educators."

A recent report by the Pew Research Center found 15 per cent of youth aged 12 to 17 had received sexually suggestive photos or videos on their personal cellphones. A similar survey for LG Electronics last year suggested the number is even higher, with 22 per cent of teens claiming to have received a naked picture on their mobile phone.

The textED.ca curriculum addresses the potential costs of such behaviour, along with other texting concerns such as harassment, privacy and "text-luring."

Of the latter, Arnason recalls a case in which an Ontario girl, 14, was persuaded via text messaging to run away with a male who claimed to be 15. Police intervened and discovered the man was actually 20 and wanted in three provinces for charges that included sexual assault.

"The explosion of texting and cellphones is something teachers haven't been well-equipped to address," says Arnason. "That's the purpose of this: to get in early and tackle these issues before we're faced with a major problem."

Although a measure of text education is already part of a number of provincially mandated health courses, educators are eager to see what this more focused rollout will look like.

"I'd be excited about seeing it because every school has issues with the Internet and with Facebook and with cellphone messaging," says Carolynne Pitura, guidance counsellor at John Henderson Junior High in Winnipeg. "If we can have more education, more intervention, and be more proactive rather than reactive, it will benefit all of us."

The national pilot phase involves Grade 7 teachers who've agreed to implement the textED.ca course, which features three lesson plans ranging in length from 40 to 90 minutes. In September, after feedback has been collected and necessary adjustments are made, junior high schools across Canada will be sent details on the optional curriculum with the hopes of national execution.

Financial support for the program, as well as content, was provided by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.

"The technology is here to stay, so we have to teach kids to use it properly," says Bernard Lord, association president.

"If a young person feels uncomfortable about any communications they may be engaged in, or if they ever feel threatened in any way, they should feel completely comfortable letting a trusted adult know about the situation," said Lord, the former New Brunswick premier.