In the past few years, issues of consent—and a shift from “no means no” to “yes means “yes”—have placed consent education and rape prevention at the forefront of the sex ed debate. In 2014, Rolling Stone published “A Rape on Campus,” and then retracted the piece after many parts of the story were called into question. In… Read more »
Public opinion on the most effective means of sex education has been split for years and, in fact, sex ed as we know it today originated from an explosion in teen pregnancy rates in the 1960s and ’70s, followed swiftly by the AIDS crisis. At the time, as a response to what was seen as… Read more »
Effects of New California Laws Continue to Spread Across the State In Auburn, California, high school trustees voted to adopt the new state law into its policies. As a result, students in the area will learn about healthy relationships, pregnancy and STI prevention, gender stereotypes, and more. Parents will be sent letters regarding the lessons, inviting them to… Read more »
As U.S. Sex Ed Programs Remain Bifurcated, New Sources of Info Emerge Australian Government Pulls Funding from Youth-Led Sex Ed Program The Australian government is pulling all funding from YEAH ((Youth Empowerment Against HIV/AIDS), a program that uses youth educators to deliver sex education in schools and universities. After June 30, YEAH will be replaced with with an online resource…. Read more »
A new study from researchers at the Guttmacher Institute found that the percentage of teens who have received a formal sex education dropped significantly between 2006 and 2013. The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found significant declines in education on birth control, saying no to sex, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS. In fact, a significant… Read more »
Sex Education Faces Serious Setbacks, Continuing a Downward Trend Bill To Kick Planned Parenthood Out of Schools Defeated… and Then Revived The past few weeks, we have been following the progress of a bill that would ban Planned Parenthood from involvement in school sexuality education offerings. Senate bill 89, sponsored by Sen. Mike Dunleavy (R-Wasilla), failed to… Read more »
Earlier this week, we mentioned that there was a bill pending in the Senate that could lead to additional funding for teacher training of sexuality educators, and for grants that could lead to more comprehensive education programs. But let’s dig deeper. What could the implications be if the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act (REHYA) were passed?… Read more »
The Real Education for Healthy Youth Act, and More Are the Dutch Doing It Right? Over on PBS, Dutch sexuality education is spotlighted, showing the stark contrast between sex ed there and in the U.S. Those behind the curricula make a strong case for starting sexuality education as early as 4 years old in order… Read more »
Sexuality Education Policies Continue To Fluctuate Across the U.S. New Sex Ed Bill on the Table in Ohio Ohio has a new bill pending—Senate Bill 101—that would ensure that contraceptive methods be taught in school. If this bill were passed, mandatory HIV/AIDS prevention education would also be accurately provided. The bill also includes an optional comprehensive sexual health education… Read more »
Just this past December, the D.C. Council Committee on Health and Human Services voted unanimously to approve the LGBTQ Cultural Competency Continuing Education Amendment Act of 2015 (B21-168). This new bill, if passed, would require health care professionals to receive continuing education on how best to treat LGBTQ populations. More specifically, this bill would require medical… Read more »
Students Beg for More and Better Sex Ed… and Some of Them Get It! Students Want More from Their Sex Ed Deakin University and the University of South Australia conducted a survey showing that school-based education programs are students’ primary source of information about sexuality and relationships. But at the same time, students find this… Read more »
Last week, we blogged about the evolution—and bifurcated state of—sexuality education in the United States, especially in light of President Barack Obama’s proposed budget cuts to abstinence-only education programs. In the coming months, it will be interesting to see how his proposal shapes sex education curricula going forward. But what about sex ed around the… Read more »
The People Push Back Against Restrictive Sex Education Laws Alaskans Unhappy with Two New Bills That Would Restrict Sex Ed Options Last week, we mentioned that the Alaska Senate had approved a bill that would prohibit school districts from contracting with abortion care providers for their sex education course materials. In addition to this bill, there is… Read more »
In our most recent Sex Ed in the News roundup, we mentioned that, in his proposed budget for 2017, President Barack Obama suggested eliminating a $10 million-a-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services that funds abstinence-only education programs. If this proposed budget were to pass as-is, it would mark an amazing shift… Read more »
Sex Education Opportunities for All Ages Alaska Republicans Try to Block Abortion Care Providers from Involvement with Sex Ed The Alaska Senate recently approved a bill that would prohibit school districts from contracting with abortion care providers, such as Planned Parenthood, for their sex education course materials. The bill is apparently Senator Mike Dunleavy’s second attempt to prohibit abortion… Read more »
New Means of Disseminating Sexuality Information, Plus Other News… Obama Cuts Abstinence-Only Sex Ed; School Districts Push Back In his proposed budget for 2017, President Barack Obama eliminated a $10 million-a-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services that funds abstinence-only education programs. Meanwhile, there are some states that are voting to keep abstinence-based education in… Read more »
James C. Wadley, Ph.D., L.P.C. (PA & NJ), ACS (Founder/Editor) Dr. James Wadley is Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Human Services program at The Lincoln University. As a scholar-practitioner, he is a licensed professional counselor and maintains a private practice in the States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is the founding editor… Read more »
I had the honor of attending the Black Families, Black Relationships, Black Sexuality conference a few weeks ago, along with 140 or so other professionals and students. It was the first conference in association with The Association of Black Sexologists and Clinicians, and it was phenomenal. I was able to catch up with a few… Read more »
By Julia Scheinbeim In the sex ed community, I think we can all agree that sexual assault prevention is a key piece of sexual health. And how do you prevent sexual assault? Well it’s a complex issue tied up in gender roles, sexual scripts, and discomfort with communication during a sexual encounter, but at the… Read more »
By Marlene Pray, Karen Rayne, and Bill Taverner This past weekend, we were witnesses to an historic event: the first-ever conference on Black Families, Black Relationships, and Black Sexuality organized and executed by the Association for Black Sexologists and Clinicians. The weekend was a mix of thought, learning, networking, fun, good food, and important conversations…. Read more »
