Kentucky Print

Although half of the high school students in Kentucky report having had sex, Kentucky has no laws requiring or regulating sex ed.

Sex Education Policy

The Department of Education provides some guidelines around teaching about HIV and pregnancy prevention, but Kentucky does not have laws requiring sex education or regulating what it can include – it has not taken the necessary action to guarantee complete, comprehensive sex ed for its students. Kentucky Department of Education Program of Studies

Health Outcomes

Among the states, Kansas’ teen pregnancy and STI rates are average. However, its students were less likely to use condoms at last intercourse than those most states.

Sexual Health Stats at a Glance

 

Teen Pregnancy Rate* Teen Birth Rate* Annual rate of AIDS Diagnoses (per 100,000 people) STI Rate+ % of high school students who did not use a condom at last sex
Kentucky 66 51.3 5.3 100.7 40
National 70 39.1 11.2 100.8 39

*Per 1000 young women ages 15-19
+Because of concern over recent changes in Chlamydia reporting and relative low incidence of syphilis, we used the state's gonorrhea rate as a stand-in for sexually transmitted infection rates.