Sex Education Reform

by Elliana Polyak

Healthcare, specifically who controls it and who receives it, has always been a difficult and controversial topic. With the topic of abortion so relevant, not only abortion, but reproductive and contraceptive rights are being discussed more than ever. Minor access to these items and the conversation of minor sexual education is something that is pertinent to discuss, especially at the crossroads we as a country are currently facing. 

When only 13 states in the nation require sex education to be medically accurate, a lot is left up to interpretation in teenage health literacy. Research published by the Public Library of Science shows that when sex education is comprehensive, students feel more informed, make safer choices and have healthier outcomes — resulting in fewer unplanned pregnancies and more protection against sexually transmitted diseases and infection. 

“Sex education is about life skills,” said Elizabeth Nash, senior state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute. “There are so many aspects you take with you for the rest of your life, but you only get it once or twice in school.”

Of course, like most of us know, sexual education isn’t just received from school; parents, peers, medical professionals, pop culture and social media all contribute to youth knowledge of sex and sexual health. However, public schools are the best opportunity for adolescents to access formal information. So what happens when that information isn’t regulated by the state? Teachers are left to interpret vague legislative guidelines, meaning information might not be accurate or unbiased. 

The chart below compares the legislative policies of all 50 states, including how they mandate specific aspects of sex education like contraception, abstinence and sexual orientation. [Fig. 1] 

So what does comprehensive, formal sex-ed look like? 

Even when sex education is required, state policies still vary widely regarding the inclusion of critical information. In short, comprehensive sex ed “includes age-appropriate, medically accurate information on a broad set of topics related to sexuality including human development, relationships, decision-making, abstinence, contraception, and disease prevention,” according to the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.  

Comprehensive sex-ed goes beyond the biological aspects. It addresses the emotional, psychosocial and economic impacts of what happens when youth engage in sexual intercourse of sexual practices. Sexual education should keep the whole student in mind. But many states leave issues like sexual orientation and contraception unaddressed, and some even prohibit public schools from addressing them. 

In recent years, states have begun to mandate sex-ed to include information about life skills for family communication, avoiding coercion and making healthy decisions. Including these skills is part of progressive trends across the country, where states have begun to require discussions of sexual consent, harassment and sexual orientation. Overall, most trends are slow to change.

Health Outcomes

The impact of sex education policies becomes more clear when considering that in 2016, the United States had higher rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease than most other industrialized countries. What feels like progress at the state level can be seen as mere catch-up to the policies of other developed nations that require teachers to discuss sex ed as early as kindergarten. 

Research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health concluded that when sex education included information about contraception, teens had a lower risk of pregnancy than adolescents who received abstinence-only or no sex education. The findings could alleviate a common fear of parents and teachers who worry that students are more likely to increase their sexual activity after receiving comprehensive sex education. 

In some states, teachers are allowed to answer questions from students, even if it focuses on a forbidden topic like STDs or sexual orientation, but some states isn’t what is needed. Sexual education needs to be covered thoroughly in all states.  [Fig. 2 and 3] 

In order to make a choice, a choice right for you, you cannot go in blindly. Education is key. Especially with such a serious topic like sex, sexual identity and orientation, we cannot allow for conversations like these to be brushed over, barred, ignored, or criminalized. As we have seen, the dismissal of sexual education has only resulted in health crises, ranging from STDs, to teen pregnancies, to affecting mental health. With the rise of the women’s rights movement, it is important to keep in mind not only sex and what comes after, but the discussions needed before hand.