West Virginia Print

West Virginia doesn’t require sex ed in public schools, even though 54 percent of its high school students report already having had sex. Get the facts about the reproductive and sexual health of West Virginia's young people.

Sex Education Policy

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

Health Outcomes

West Virginia has lower AIDS, teen pregnancy, and STI rates than the national average.

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
West Virginia 62 49.8 4.8 31.8 46
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.

Advocates' Partner Organizations