South Dakota has no law requiring sex ed, even though 47 percent of its high school students report already having had sex. However, South Dakota’s schools are required to teach abstinence-until-marriage as an aspect of “character development.”

South Dakota’s AIDS rates reveal a growing problem with HIV in American Indian communities: American Indians/Alaska Natives account for 17 percent of all AIDS cases in South Dakota even though they make up only 8.5 percent of the population.

Sex Education Policy

South Dakota has no law requiring sex education or regulating its content if taught – it has not taken the necessary action to guarantee complete, comprehensive sex ed for its students. However, South Dakota does require that students be taught about HIV prevention.

Health Outcomes

South Dakota has among the lowest rates of teen pregnancy, AIDS, and STI rates in the nation.

*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.