Sex Education in America’s Schools: Is It Working?

It is important to provide accurate and consistent sex instruction in schools. The sex education that American students receive is not the same as in other countries.

Students’ health can be improved by providing them with sex-education resources. This will also help to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and spread of sexually transmissible infections (STIs). Take a closer look at the current state of sex-education in American schools.

Key takeaways:

Not all American states even have a sex education requirement.

Students are less likely to receive sex education topics than 25 years ago.

Comprehensive sex education can help students develop healthy relationships and reduce intimate partner violence.

What is the U.S. approach to sex education in the U.S.?

The United States does not have a single method for educating students. Many state policies can be very different, and are often left to the discretionary decisions of individual school districts. It is not surprising that this can lead to a mismatch in practices.

Since the 1970s, a large part of sex education has focused on abstinence. These programs do not provide any information about birth control, except the failure rate. A study published in Current opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology found that these programs do not provide accurate scientific information. In some states, sex-ed classes are not required.

According to Planned Parenthood, the federal government has spent over two billion dollars on abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education programs. The programs are now called sexual risk avoidance programs (SRA). Research has shown that they do not work.

The Trump administration has cut more than $200 million from federal funding for programs to prevent teen pregnancy. According to the CDC almost 46% of sexually-active high school students did not use a condom when they last had sex.

How effective is sex-education in America?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all new STI cases reported each year are among those aged 15-24. A CDC survey conducted in 2019 found that less than 10% of high-school students had tested positive for HIV or STIs within the past year.

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Adolescent health found that students were less likely than 25 years ago to be exposed to sex education. In 1995, more students were given birth control information than from 2015 to 2019.

These programs often focus on heterosexual relationships, and ignore other identities.

Need for better sex education

The American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine support sex education.

According to the CDC school health profiles, students aged 15-19 experience a significant decline in sex education. Topics such as birthcontrol methods and STI/HIV prevention are less frequently discussed. Planned Parenthood says that sex education works best when:

• Early and frequent instruction by professionals
• Evidenced-based
• Include LGBTQ+ Students
• Includes information and skills-building activities

“There is a small but very powerful movement against sexuality and sex.” This movement has been very well funded and is doing a great job in convincing people that sexual education does not work and that young people will be more sexually active if sexuality education is provided. In an article for Harvard Political Review, Tamara Kreanin said that this information was inaccurate.

What is better sex education?

Comprehensive sex-education is the process of providing accurate information about sex, sexuality and related topics to children and adolescents from an early age. Research shows that comprehensive sex instruction that is inclusive and culturally sensitive can help students build healthy relationships and reduce violence in intimate relationships.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that comprehensive sexeducation be “medically accurate and age-appropriate.” The information should also include normal reproduction and contraception as well as information about barrier protection, such a condoms, to prevent STIs.

ACOG believes that comprehensive sex instruction should include forms of sexual expression and what constitutes a healthy relationship. It also recommends teaching gender identity, consent, and the definition of a healthy sexual relationship.

The Netherlands’ approach towards sex education

Some countries have a different view of sex education. According to the Centre for Global Reproductive Health in the Netherlands, sex education is taught to children as young as four. Seven-year olds are taught the correct terminology for body parts. Dutch students are educated on safe sex and reproduction by the age of 11.

Dutch students report having more positive first sexualexperiences than American students. The first sex experience for both American and Dutch teens is usually between the ages of 17 and 18. While the American teen pregnancy rate has declined over the past few years, it is still higher than Dutch teens. Dutch teens also have less abortions.

The conclusion of the article is:

Other countries that have more comprehensive and robust sex-education programs show that a better sex-education program leads to more positive experiences with sex and less teen pregnancy. In general, there is more that can be done to improve sex education in American Public Schools.

Takeaways from the conference:

Some states in the US do not even require sex education.

Les students are less likely than 25 years ago to be taught about sex education.

Students can learn about healthy relationships through a comprehensive sex education program.