SIECUS State Profiles: Updated May 2020 Sex Ed State Law and Policy Chart PHOTO BY CHRISTINA MORILLO Table of contents Introduction 3 How to read these tables 4 From policy to practice 9 State law and policy charts 1. Requirements and quality of education 10 2. Additional requirements – Sex education or HIV/STI instruction 13 3. Additional requirements – Healthy relationships instruction 16 4. Parent/guardian notification 19 PHOTO BY MENTATDGT Highlights: states and the District of Columbia Introduction 29 mandate sex education. states require schools to stress 35 abstinence when sex education or HIV/STI instruction is provided. A patchwork of laws relating to sex education exist states require instruction on 16 condoms or contraception when sex education or HIV/STI across the country, with varying requirements. instruction is provided. In some states, this has meant a lack of access to sex states do not require sex ed or 15 HIV/STI instruction to be any of the following: age-appropriate, education or certain components of sex education, medically accurate, culturally responsive, or evidence-based/ and in many other states no access to comprehensive evidence-informed. sexuality education for young people. In response to states require sex education or 9 HIV/STI instruction to include information on consent. the lack of uniformity in laws and policies regarding sex states require culturally education across the nation, the following series of 8 responsive sex education and HIV/STI instruction. tables has been developed to assist with clarifying the states have policies that include 11 affirming sexual orientation state of sex education, HIV/STI instruction, and healthy instruction on LGBQ identities or discussion of sexual health for relationships instruction in the United States. LGBQ youth. states explicitly require teachers to 8 portray LGBTQ people negatively in health education instruction or prohibit teachers from mentioning LGBTQ people. 3 How to read these tables In general, these tables address whether states must provide sex education, HIV/STI instruction, and/or healthy relationships instruction in the United States; the quality of that education; what topics are included; and the rights parents and guardians may have regarding their children receiving such education. Each of the numbered headings below correspond to their respectively numbered tables. For additional context, please refer to the footnotes at the end of each table. 1. Requirements and quality of education To be clear, these quality standards may complete. Some state definitions of This first table outlines which states apply even if the type of education is not “medically accurate” require that the mandate sex education, HIV/STI instruction, mandated. In other words, if a school elects department of health review the material and/or healthy relationships instruction. to teach at least one of the three types of for accuracy, others will mandate that The “Xs” with an asterisk (*) indicate that education tracked, then it must adhere to curriculum be based on information from the mandate is either found in the state’s additional requirements. “published authorities upon which administrative laws, regulations, or rules; a. Medically accurate sex education: medical professionals rely.” policies; or curriculum standards. Still, these verified or supported by the weight of b. Age appropriate: suitable to particular requirements have the full force and effect research conducted in compliance ages or age groups of children and of law. Additionally, this table notes whether with accepted scientific methods and adolescents, based on the typical the education must be age-appropriate, published in peer-reviewed journals, if developing cognitive, emotional, and evidence-based, culturally responsive, and/or applicable, or comprising information behavioral capacity typical for the age medically accurate, when taught in the state. recognized as accurate, objective, and or age group. 4 c. Culturally responsive: affirming of any explicit language concerning LGBTQ culturally diverse individuals, families, and people, instruction, or materials. The communities in an inclusive, respectful, language also differentiates between and effective manner; including materials sexual orientation and gender identity. and instruction that are inclusive of race, ◦ Inclusive laws on sexual orientation ethnicity, language, cultural background, are those that include affirming religion, gender, gender identity, sexual instruction on lesbian, gay, bisexual, orientation, and different abilities. and queer (LGBQ identities) and d. Evidence based: require curriculum discussion of sexual health for LGBQ to be based on proven, accredited youth. publications and authorities that ◦ Inclusive laws on gender identity demonstrates the success or failure require sex education curriculum to of specific initiatives. include instruction on the emotional, behavioral and cultural characteristics 2. Additional requirements – attached to a person’s assigned Sex education or HIV/STI instruction biological sex. Gender can be This table describes the requirements to understood to have several compo- which a school must adhere if it elects to nents, including gender identity, provide sex education or HIV/STI gender expression and gender roles. instruction. These additional requirements ◦ Neutral laws on sexual orientation fall into several distinct categories: include information on LGBQ identities or mention LGBQ identities, but • Inclusion, or lack thereof, of lesbian, neither affirm the unique needs of gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer LGBQ youth or intentionally (LGBTQ) people – Language surrounding discriminate against LGBQ youth. LGBTQ people varies tremendously in states’ education laws across the country. ◦ Neutral laws on gender identity These laws can be categorized as being include instruction on the emotional, either “inclusive,” “neutral,” or “discrimi- behavioral and cultural characteristics natory” toward LGBTQ people. Cells that attached to a person’s assigned are blank indicate states that do not have biological sex, but neither affirm the 5 PHOTO BY DISABLED AND PROUD unique needs of young people beyond • Abortion as outcome of pregnancy (neg- require contraception to be covered the binary including but not limited to ative, affirming, or prohibited) – varies. gender nonconforming, transgender, States have different requirements ◦ Limited includes teaching methods and gender expansive youth, or regarding discussion of abortion in such as condoms and vaguely intentionally discriminate against sex education classes. Some state laws mentions the concepts of contracep- these youth. prohibit instruction on abortion or tion but does not go into detail. Some require inclusion of medically inaccurate ◦ Discriminatory laws on sexual require that contraception is covered orientation require sex education information written to dissuade students but emphasize the failure rate of curriculum to include discriminatory, from viewing abortion as an acceptable various forms of contraception rather stigmatizing, shame based, or medically outcome of pregnancy, while curricula than its use. that are affirming of abortion promote inaccurate information about sexual State laws that require expansive or include instruction that is medically ◦ orientation. In addition to classifying contraception education include accurate, unbiased information about laws that prohibit sex educators from many if not all FDA-approved forms of abortion as a valid outcome of pregnancy. “promoting homosexuality” (commonly contraception, including long-acting referred to as ‘no promo homo laws’) • Abstinence – The extent that states reversible contraception and condoms, as discriminatory, SIECUS considers require abstinence to be covered varies. and how to use the various forms. additional factors for classification. Abstinence Included: Policies require These factors include requirements ◦ • Marriage promotion – There are state that sex education curriculum includes that instruction promote “honor and laws containing language that require instruction on abstinence in addition respect for monogamous, heterosexu- teachers to promote marriage— to providing instruction on additional al marriage” and/or “benefits of mo- described explicitly as heterosexual and methods of pregnancy prevention and nogamous, heterosexual marriage.” monogamous in many states—during contraception. sex education and HIV/STI instruction. ◦ Discriminatory laws on gender Abstinence Stressed: Policies require Many of these laws perpetuate the identity require sex education ◦ that sex education curriculum only misconception that marriage is the only curriculum to include instruction on include abstinence or emphasize way to prevent unintended pregnancies the emotional, behavioral and cultural abstinence as the main way to avoid and HIV/STIs. However, this is a misguided characteristics attached to a person’s pregnancy and sexually transmitted belief that contributes to both the stigma assigned biological sex. Gender can be infections. and isolation of married people who do understood to have several compo- have unintended pregnancies or contract nents, including gender identity, • Contraception covered (limited or HIV/STIs and the fallacy that unintended gender expression and gender role. expansive) – The extent that states 6 pregnancies and HIV/STIs are nonexistent therefore tracking which states require or disappear in a marriage. schools to include some sort