The Benefits of Incorporating Comprehensive Sex Education into a Curriculum
As Early as Kindergarten!
Sex Education is Lacking in MN
While the state of Minnesota does require public schools to teach sex education, it is not required to be comprehensive or medically accurate (Sexuality Information and Education Council for the United States, 2021a).
MN is Not an Outlier
Unfortunately, Minnesota is not an outlier when it comes to poor sex education standards in the United States.
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Only 29 states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education.
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15 states do not require sex education to be age-appropriate, medically accurate, culturally responsive, or evidence-based.
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9 states explicitly require sex education instruction that discriminates against the LGBTQ+ community (SIECUS, 2021a).
What Is Comprehensive Sex Education?
Comprehensive sex education includes complete, medically accurate, and developmentally-appropriate information on human sexuality.
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Uses language that is sex-positive and inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community.
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Includes information on risk reduction, abstinence strategies, contraception, and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
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Promotes the development of relevant social and emotional skills.
Includes guardians as partners with teachers (Constantine, Jerman, & Huang, 2007).
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Why Do We Need Comprehensive Sex Education?
Often the alternative to comprehensive sex education, other than no education at all, is an 'abstinence-only program'.
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Abstinence-only programs teach only not to have sex outside of marriage and excludes the teaching of birth control or safe sex practices (Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc., 2016).
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Abstinence-only programs are simply not as effective as comprehensive sex education.
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Research has found that abstinence-only programs have shown to have no effect on sexual activity, and teens who received comprehensive sex education were 50% less likely to experience pregnancy than those who had received abstinence-only education (Kohler, Manhart, and Lafferty, 2008; Potera, 2008).