Invest in Comprehensive Sex Education Print


Advocates for Youth supports Comprehensive Sex Education.  Complete, accurate, and age-appropriate sex education helps young people reduce their risk of unintended pregnancies and STIs, including HIV/AIDS.  Sex education programs that include information about both abstinence and contraception help keep young people safe by delaying sexual activity and increasing contraceptive use when they do have sex.  Most parents believe that young people should receive comprehensive sex education, as do a broad range of professional health organizations including the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Medical Association.  Currently, the United States has no federal sex education program. We urge the President and Congress to invest in the lives and health of our nation’s young people by providing at least $50 million to promote comprehensive sex education in our schools and communities nationwide.

Support a comprehensive, progressive vision for sex education policy in the United States.

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) have introduced the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act, the next step in our work together to advance the sexual health of young people in the United States.

Among its many highlights, the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act:

  • Recognizes young people's right to sexual health information — the first time federal legislation has ever done so;
  • Prepares young people to make informed, responsible, and healthy decisions about relationships and sexual health by including a comprehensive range of topics such as promoting safe and healthy relationships and preventing unintended pregnancy, STDs including HIV, dating violence, and bullying;
  • Includes grants for comprehensive sex education programs for adolescents and young people in college;
  • Requires all funded programs must be inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual youth;
  • Highlights the importance of, and provides resources for, teacher training to ensure that our nation's sex educators have the tools they need to provide the best comprehensive sex education possible to our nation's youth.

Please urge your Members of Congress to co-sponsor this important bill.