SEX EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
EDITED BY OLIVIA LUONGO, KAITLYN WILLOUGHBY, LAUREN KRAUSKOPF,
SERENA DINESHKUMAR, ALISON HAGANI, SELA CARRINGTON, LINDSAY SERGI,
AND SYDNEY BRINKER
I. INTRODUCTION.......................................... 973
II. VARIATIONS IN STATE SEX EDUCATION POLICY ................... 974
A. CURRENT STATUS OF SEX EDUCATION POLICY BY STATE ........ 974
B. RECENT CHALLENGES AND PROPOSED CHANGES TO STATE STATUTES 984
C. DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ABSTINENCE-ONLY
PROGRAMS ........................................ 985
D. DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR COMPREHENSIVE SEX
EDUCATION PROGRAMS ................................ 987
III. LEGAL CHALLENGES TO SEX EDUCATION PROGRAMS ............ 989
A. OBJECTIONS TO LAWS THAT REQUIRE SEX EDUCATION .......... 989
B. LEGAL OBJECTIONS TO LIMITS ON SEX EDUCATION ............ 994
IV. POLITICAL CONTEXT AND SOCIAL SCIENCE DEVELOPMENTS . . . . . . . 999
A. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SEX EDUCATION PROGRAMS ........... 999
B. TREATMENT IN THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CYCLE . . . . . . . 1004
C. TREATMENT BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ................ 1005
D. TREATMENT BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006
V. CONCLUSION .......................................... 1006
APPENDIX A................................................ 1008
APPENDIX B................................................ 1011
I. INTRODUCTION
The teaching of sex education in the public-school system is a controversial
topic. As a result, state statutes regulating sex education, as well as methodolo-
gies used in sex education curricula, vary widely. Topics covered by the
law include general health education, sexually transmitted diseases (“STDs”),
HIV/AIDS, contraception, abortion, and human sexuality. During the Trump
Administration, there were changes to the federal funding available for absti-
nence-only programs, including cuts to funding for organizations taking part in
President Obama’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.
1
Jessie Hellmann, Abstinence Only Education Making a Comeback Under Trump, THE HILL (Mar.
8, 2018), https://perma.cc/BJ2G-MSU4.
The Trump
Administration and former officials at the Department of Health and Human
1.
973
Services emphasized the need to embed “sexual delay” in sex education, as seen
in a report released during the summer of 2018.
2
Part II of this Article surveys different state sex education laws, describes the
recent challenges and proposed changes to state statutes, and breaks down the dis-
tribution of federal funding for both abstinence-only and comprehensive sex edu-
cation programs. Part III discusses the judicial history of the challenges to sex
education statutes. It examines differences between challenges to statutes that
require sex education and challenges to statutes that limit topics that may be cov-
ered in a sex education curriculum. Part IV of this Article highlights political
developments during the 2016 election cycle and research findings regarding the
effectiveness of various sex education programs, concluding with a discussion
of the Trump Administration’s early treatment of the issue and proposed
Republican policy shifts.
II. VARIATIONS IN STATE SEX EDUCATION POLICY
A. CURRENT STATUS OF SEX EDUCATION POLICY BY STATE
Sex education statutes vary significantly among the fifty states and the District
of Columbia.
3
SIECUS, The SIECUS State Profiles 2019/2020, SIECUS (2020), https://perma.cc/P2YF-4S5N.
Each state has different limitations and requirements regarding
what public schools must, may, and cannot teach students.
4
Many states expressly
regulate teaching topics like abstinence, sexuality, STD prevention, HIV/AIDS,
and sexual orientation.
5
Some states grant local school boards a great deal of dis-
cretion, resulting in little uniformity in the teaching of sexual education through-
out the state.
6
See e.g., Jennifer Smith, State Moves to Bring Sex Education Out of the ‘90s, COMMONWEALTH
MAGAZINE (June 6, 2023), https://perma.cc/E5T3-QZLM.
The majority of states expressly regulate the teaching of sexual education in
public schools.
7
See Sex and HIV Education, GUTTMACHER INST. (Sept. 1, 2023), https://perma.cc/HS7E-D78X.
Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia require public
schools to include education about STDs or HIV/AIDS in their curricula (see
Appendix A for a chart of sexual education laws in the states).
8
Kansas does not
2. Id.
3.
4. Id.
5. Id.
6.
7.
8. Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. See,
e.g., CAL. EDUC. CODE § 51934 (West, Westlaw through ch. 8 of 2024 Reg. Sess.); CONN. GEN. STAT.
ANN. § 10-19(b) (West, Westlaw through 2023 Reg. Sess. & 2023 Sept. Sess.); GA. CODE ANN. § 20-2-
143 (West, Westlaw through 2023 Reg. Sess. Of Ga. Gen. Assemb.) (requiring sex education, including
curricula devoted to abstinence, STDs, and HIV/AIDS prevention); 105 ILL. COMP. STAT. ANN. 110/3
(West, Westlaw through P.A. 103-585 of the 2024 Reg. Sess.); IND. CODE ANN. § 20-30-5-12 (West,
Westlaw through 2024 2d Reg. Sess. of the 123rd Gen. Assemb. effective through Mar. 15, 2024); IOWA
CODE ANN. §§ 256.11(4), (5j) (West, Westlaw through 2024 Reg. Sess.) (requiring STD education for
grades seven through twelve); ME. REV. STAT. ANN. tit. 22, §§ 1902, 1910 (West, Westlaw through ch.
974 THE GEORGETOWN JOURNAL OF GENDER AND THE LAW [Vol. 25:973
require specific inclusions, but the state board of education provides a voluntary
model curriculum.
9
Florida, Mississippi, and North Dakota mandate abstinence-
only or abstinence-plus teaching in public schools.
10
Six states have statutes or
641 of the 2023 Reg. Sess. of 131st Leg.) (requiring comprehensive family life education, including
education about family planning and STDs); MICH. COMP. LAWS ANN. § 380.1169 (West, Westlaw
through P.A.2024, No. 35, of the 2024 Reg. Sess.); MINN. STAT. ANN. § 121A.23 (West, Westlaw
through 2024 Reg. Sess.) (requiring that each district have a program to reduce HIV and HPV
transmission as well as a curriculum that helps students abstain from sexual activity until marriage);
NEV. REV. STAT. ANN. § 389.036 (West, Westlaw through 2023 82d Reg. Sess.) (requiring HIV/AIDS,
human reproduction, sexual responsibility, and STD education); N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 189:10 (West,
Westlaw through ch. 8 of the 2024 Reg. Sess.); N.C. GEN. STAT. ANN. § 115C-81.30 (West, Westlaw
through the 2023 Reg. Sess.) (requiring STD prevention education, including education about HIV/
AIDS and HPV, as well as the effectiveness of FDA-approved contraceptive methods); OHIO REV. CODE
ANN. § 3313.60(A)(5)(c) (West, Westlaw through 2023–2024 Sess.); OKLA. STAT. ANN. tit. 70, § 11-
103.3 (West, Westlaw through ch. 106 of the 2d Reg. Sess. of the 59th Leg.); OR. REV. STAT. § 336.455
(2) (West, Westlaw through 2024 Reg. Sess.) (requiring sex education, including education about the
prevention of HIV and other STDs, as well as information about contraceptives); 16 R.I. GEN. LAWS §
16-22-17(a) (West, Westlaw through ch. 6 of the 2024 Reg. Sess. of the R.I. Leg.); S.C. CODE ANN. §
59-32-30(A) (West, Westlaw through 2024 Act No. 120) (requiring sex education in six through twelfth
grades including coverage of STD and pregnancy prevention, but prohibiting education of STDs in
kindergarten through fifth grade); UTAH CODE ANN. § 53G-10-402(2)(b) (West, Westlaw through the
2024 Gen. Sess.) (requiring education on prevention of communicable diseases, stressing abstinence
before marriage as prevention method and prohibiting encouragement of contraceptive use); VT. STAT.
ANN. tit. 16, §§ 131(1), (4) (West, Westlaw through 2023–2024 Vt. Gen. Assemb.); WASH. REV. CODE
ANN. §§ 28A.230.020, 230.070(1), (6)-(7) (West, Westlaw through ch. 375 of the 2024 Reg. Sess.); W.
VA. CODE ANN. § 18-2-9(b) (West, Westlaw through the 2024 Reg. Sess.); WIS. STAT. A NN. § 115.35
(West, Westlaw through 2023 Act 117); ALA. CODE § 16-40A-2 (West, Westlaw through 2024 Reg.
Sess.) (required to emphasize that abstinence is the only effective protection against STDs and HIV/
AIDS); 14 DEL. ADMIN. CODE § 851 (West, Westlaw through Apr. 1, 2024) (requiring comprehensive
sexuality education and an HIV prevention program); D.C. MUN. REGS. subt. 5-E, § 2305 (West,
Westlaw through Apr. 12, 2024) (requiring instruction on human sexuality and reproduction, including
intercourse, pregnancy, childbirth, venereal disease, contraception, and abortion); HAW. REV. STAT.
ANN.§ 321-11.1 (West, Westlaw through Act 9 of 2024 Reg. Sess.) (requiring abstinence-based
sexuality education that includes instruction on HIV prevention); KY. REV. STAT. ANN. § 158.1415
(West, Westlaw through Apr. 17, 2024) (requiring education on how abstinence is the only certain way
to avoid STDs); MD. CODE REGS. § 13A.04.18.01(D) (West, Westlaw through Feb. 23, 2024, Md. Reg.
Vol. 51, Iss. 04) (requiring education on human sexuality and diseases); MO. ANN. STAT. § 170.015
(West, Westlaw through 2023 1st Reg. Sess.); N.J. STAT. ANN. § 18A:35-4.20 (West, Westlaw through
L.2023, c. 256 and J.R. No. 18.) (requiring education in HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and
pregnancy); N.M. CODE R. § 6.12.2.10 (West, Westlaw through Vol. 25, No. 6, Mar. 26, 2024); N.Y.
COMP. CODES R. & REGS. tit. 8, § 135.3 (West, Westlaw through Apr. 12, 2024); 22 PA. CODE § 4.29(a)
(West, Westlaw through Jan. 27, 2024); TENN. CODE ANN. § 49-6-1302 (West, Westlaw through ch. 604
of the 2024 Reg. Sess.); TENN. ST. BD. OF EDUC., TENNESSEE HEALTH EDUCATION AND LIFETIME
WELLNESS STANDARDS, GRADES K-12 (2018).
9. See KAN. ADMIN. REGS. § 91-31-32(c)(9)(G) (through Vol. 43, No. 15, Apr. 11, 2024); KAN. ST.
DEP’T OF EDUC., KANSAS MODEL CURRICULAR STANDARDS FOR HEALTH EDUCATION 14–15 (2018).
10. Both abstinence-only and abstinence-plus education programs promote sexual abstinence as the
only certain way to prevent pregnancy and STDs. However, abstinence-plus education acknowledges
that some teens will be sexually active and also teaches contraception and condom use. See Chris
Collins, Priya Alagiri & Todd Summers, AIDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, UNIV. OF CAL. SAN FRANCISCO,
Abstinence Only v. Comprehensive Education: What are the arguments? What is the evidence? (2002);
see also FLA. STAT. ANN. § 1003.42(3) (West, Westlaw through 2024 1st Reg. Sess.); MISS. CODE. ANN.
§ 37-13-171(2) (West, Westlaw through 2024, Reg., 1st, and 2d Sess); N.D. CENT. CODE ANN. § 15.1-
21-24 (West, Westlaw through 2023 Reg. Sess.).
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