California Mandates Comprehensive Sex Education in All Schools
“California Mandates Comprehensive Sex Education in All Schools.” Curriculum Review, vol. 55, no. 3, Nov. 2015, p. 9. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=110738909&site=ehost-live.
Special Report
While many states across the country have denied or are in the process of implementing new sex ed requirements, California says yes to all requirements for government-mandated sex education, according to SFGate.com.
Governor Jerry Brown signed a measure that requires middle and high schools to teach HIV/AIDS prevention, and a new sex ed curriculum including emergency contraception, abstinence, dating violence, and more. Individual parents can opt-out in behalf of their children.
The law requires that school districts offer sex and HIV education, a comprehensive curriculum that includes abstinence, sexual orientation, contraception use, and life skills such as healthy decision-making and family communication.
California is the first to implement a new standard that sex and HIV education should be medically accurate, age appropriate, culturally appropriate and unbiased, without promoting a religion.
"Our schools are a critical environment for providing young people with the knowledge and skills that they will need to protect their sexual health," says the bill's author and Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, to SFGate.com. "This is about empowering all young men and women -- whatever their orientation or gender -- to make the healthiest decisions possible."
"This legislation ensures that all students have access to medically accurate and unbiased sexual health education By affirmatively recognizing that people have different sexual orientations and teaching pupils about gender identity, LGBTQ youth will be safer in school," says state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson in a statement.
Although there was little protest about the passing of the sex/HIV education law, there was outspoken disagreement with the initiative.
Some parents prefer that schools stick to the traditional abstinence-only approach to preventing pregnancy and STIs. Additionally, many parents believe sex education should be left up to them to teach their children.
According to FindLaw, Brad Dacus, an attorney and president with the Pacific Justice Institute, an organization that focuses on cases related to religious freedom and parental rights, sides with concerned parents, "School districts now have no choice based on their own community attitudes whether sex education is appropriate and the degree of sex ed is appropriate."
Source: sf.gate.com, 10/5/15; guttermatcher.org, 10/1/15; www.ncsl.org, 2/13/15; findlaw.com
A Brief Look at States and Sex Ed Curriculum Provided by the Guttmacher Institute
Sex & HIV Education General Requirements
* 22 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education
* 20 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex and HIV education
* 33 states and the District of Columbia mandate HIV education. Of those states, 13 exclusively mandate HIV education
* 27 states and the District of Columbia require that all sex and HIV education programs meet one or more of the following requirements:
° Medically accurate
° Suitable for the students' age
° Applicable within the students' cultural background, and not discriminatory against race, sex, and ethnicity
° Does not promote a religion
* 37 states and the District of Columbia require that school districts involve parents in sex education, HIV education, or both via three methods:
° Notify parents when schools provide sex and/or HIV education to students. 22 states and the District of Columbia passed this bill
° Request parental permission for students to partake in sex and/or HIV education
° Allow parents to remove students from sex and/or HIV lessons
Sex Education Curriculum Requirements
* 37 states require that abstinence is included in instructions
° 25 states require that schools stress abstinence to students
° 12 states request that schools simply cover the topic of abstinence
* 19 states require that students learn the importance of engaging in sexual activity within marriage
* 13 states require that states discuss sexual orientation
° 9 states ask that sexual orientation be inclusive; 4 states allow schools to provide negative information on sexual orientation
* 13 states require that schools discuss negative outcomes of teen sex and pregnancy
* 27 states and the District of Columbia require that schools teach students skills for healthy sexuality, healthy decision making, and family communication
° 20 states and the District of Columbia request that schools teach students skills to minimize coerced sex
* 20 states request that schools teach students about making healthy sexuality decisions
° 11 states request that schools teach students how to talk to parents and their families about sex
HIV Education Curriculum Requirements
* 19 states request that schools teach students about condoms or contraception
* 39 states request that schools teach abstinence as a way to prevent HIV.
° 27 states request that schools stress abstinence
° 12 states request that schools include abstinence
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