According to a recent analysis, only 42 states mandate that all public school students receive comprehensive sexual education before graduation. Out of those 19 states, only 19 of those states guarantee that instruction is medically accurate. This gap begs the question of what kind of sexual education students in the United States are receiving and how reliable is the information provided.
The report highlights that 58% of students live in jurisdictions where sexual education is required to adhere to medical accuracy standards. There is still a dangerous gap in sex education. Only five states go as far as demanding medical accuracy on certain subjects within their curriculum. This climate has led to a broader concern about whether the current landscape of sexual education programs is equipping students with the critical and fact-based knowledge they need.
Only 27 states even mandate teaching about healthy relationships at all, as part of their comprehensive sex ed requirements. Moreover, 24 states require instruction on the prevention of sexual assault. Further, 21 states mandate instruction on dating violence or intimate partner violence. These intersections are crucial for deepening awareness and understanding with students. The reality of the patchwork nature of our education system raises the stakes on this goal.
Education on these topics is sadly lacking. There is no federal law requiring any sexual education whatsoever in our nation’s schools. As a matter of fact, only 20 states mandate that teachers provide instruction on contraception, an important part of a well-rounded sexual education. Teaching about sexual orientation is only legally required in 12 states, and only 11 states require teaching about condoms. Consent instruction is the rarest. Even this is uncommon, with only nine states mandating consent education.
Requirements for parental involvement in sexual education are not only more common, but more restrictive and more varied state-wide. In 34 states, parents have the right to opt their children out of any and all sexual education instruction. By comparison, just five states have a law that requires parents to opt in for their kids to get this kind of education. This inconsistency can directly impact the amount of knowledge and preparedness that students possess when it comes to sexual health and relationships.
Plus, 34 states actually require HIV instruction in their curricula. This focus is imperative in light of the persistent public health challenges posed by sexually transmitted infections. That’s a bright spot in an otherwise dark and patchwork sexual education landscape across the country.
