Why Is Sexual Education Taught in Schools?

A 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey indicates that nearly 40 percent of all high school students report they have had sex, and 9.7 percent of high school students have had sex with four or more partners during their lifetime. Among students who had sex in the three months prior to the survey, 54 percent reported condom use and 30 percent reported using birth control pills, an intrauterine device (IUD), implant, shot or ring during their last sexual encounter.

The birth rate for women aged 15-19 years was 18.8 per 1,000 women in 2017, a drop of 7 percent from 2016. According to CDC, reasons for the decline are not entirely clear, but evidence points to a higher number of teens abstaining from sexual activity and an increased use of birth control in teens who are sexually active. Though the teen birth rate has declined to its lowest levels since data collection began, the United States still has the highest teen birth rate in the industrialized world.

Certain social and economic costs can result from teen pregnancy. Teenage mothers are less likely to finish high school and are more likely than their peers to live in poverty, depend on public assistance, and be in poor health. Their children are more likely to suffer health and cognitive disadvantages, come in contact with the child welfare and correctional systems, live in poverty, drop out of high school and become teen parents themselves. These costs add up, according to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which estimates that teen childbearing costs taxpayers at least $9.4 billion annually. Between 1991 and 2015, the teen birth rate dropped 64%, resulting in approximately $4.4 billion in public savings in one year alone.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) disproportionately affect adolescents due to a variety of behavioral, biological and cultural reasons. Young people ages 15 to 24 represent 25 percent of the sexually active population, but acquire half of all new STIs, or about 10 million new cases a year. Though many cases of STIs continue to go undiagnosed and unreported, one in four sexually-active adolescent females is reported to have an STI.

Human papillomavirus is the most common STI and some estimates find that up to 35 percent of teens ages 14 to 19 have HPV. The rate of reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and primary and secondary syphilis increased among those aged 15-24 years old between 2017-2018. Rates of reported chlamydia cases are consistently highest among women aged 15-24 years, and rates of reported gonorrhea cases are consistently highest among men aged 15-24 years. A CDC analysis reveals the annual number of new STIs is roughly equal among young women and young men. However, women are more likely to experience long-term health complications from untreated STIs and adolescent females may have increased susceptibility to infection due to biological reasons.

The estimated direct medical costs for treating people with STIs are nearly $16 billion annually, with costs associated with HIV infection accounting for more than 81% of the total cost. In 2017, approximately 21 percent of new HIV diagnoses were among young people ages 13 to 24 years.

Sex Education and States All states are somehow involved in sex education for public schoolchildren. As of March 1, 2020: Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia require public schools teach sex education, 27 of which mandate sex education and HIV education.

Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia require students receive instruction about HIV.

Twenty-two states require that if provided, sex and/or HIV education must be medically, factually or technically accurate. State definitions of “medically accurate" vary, from requiring that the department of health review curriculum for accuracy, to mandating that curriculum be based on information from “published authorities upon which medical professionals rely.” (See table on medically accuracy laws.) Many states define parents’ rights concerning sexual education: Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia require school districts to notify parents that sexual or HIV education will be provided.

Five states require parental consent before a child can receive instruction.

Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia allow parents to opt-out on behalf of their children.

*Medical accuracy is not specifically outlined in state statue, rather it is required by the New Jersey Department of Education, Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Student Learning Standards.

** Medical accuracy requirement is pursuant to rule R277-474 of the Utah Administrative Code.

***Medical accuracy is not outlined in state statute, rather it is included in the Virginia Department of Education Standards of Learning Document for Family Life Resources.

Source: NCSL, 2019; Guttmacher Institute, 2019; Powered by StateNet

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