T.S.
Telling them to wait for the perfect person just sets them up for failure.
Because there is no such thing.
I teach my kids that sex and love are powerful and strong, and nothing to be taken lightly.
I especially tell my daughters not to just "give it away" but to treat it like a gift, to take pleasure and ownership of their sexuality. They are not just there to please a boy but to please themselves as well.
I'm GLAD the schools teach sex ed, because many parents are too embarrassed or simply unwilling to do it so kids start relying on each other for "facts" which are often horrendously wrong (like you can't get pregnant if you do it in a hot tub, or pool, because of the chemicals, yep, one of my daughter's friends told me that!)
I've never told my kids they should wait until marriage, but I have (hopefully) taught them to treat themselves and their bodies with respect. I even shared how I lost my virginity at 17 and a half with a not very special guy and how I have always WISHED that I had just waited six months longer, because that's when I met my first true love and I always regretted that he wasn't my first.