Rights, Respect, Responsibility

Advocates for Youth partners with youth leaders, adult allies, and youth-serving organizations to advocate for policies and champion programs that recognize young people’s rights to honest sexual health information; accessible, confidential, and affordable sexual health services; and the resources and opportunities necessary to create sexual health equity for all youth.

Our Vision: Rights. Respect. Responsibility.

Advocates for Youth envisions a society that views sexuality as normal and healthy and treats young people as a valuable resource.

RIGHTS: Youth have the inalienable right to honest sexual health information; confidential, consensual sexual health services; and equitable opportunities to reach their full potential.

RESPECT: Youth deserve respect. Valuing young people means authentically involving them in the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies that affect their health and well-being.

RESPONSIBILITY: Society has the responsibility to provide young people with all of the tools they need to safeguard their sexual health, and young people have the responsibility to protect themselves.

Author Elizabeth Schroeder, EdD, MSW, is an award-winning educator, trainer, and author in the areas of sexuality education pedagogy, LGBTQ issues, working with adolescent boys and using technology and social media to teach young people about sexuality. She has provided consultation to and direct education and training for schools, parent groups, and youth-serving organizations in countries around the world for more than 20 years, most recently creating the first-ever online sexuality education course for UNFPA and UNESCO to train teachers in East and Southern Africa.

Dr. Schroeder is the former executive director of Answer, a national sexuality education organization serving young people and the adults who teach them. She was previously the associate vice president of education and training at Planned Parenthood of New York City and the manager of education and special projects at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The co-founding editor of the American Journal of Sexuality Education, Dr. Schroeder has authored or edited numerous publications, including the four-part book series, Sexuality Education: Past, Present and Future with Dr. Judy Kuriansky and Sexuality Education: Theory and Practice with Dr. Clint Bruess. She is a frequently sought-out spokesperson and blogger in the news media on issues relating to sexual health education and youth development, including CNN, HuffPo Live and various NPR affiliates. Dr. Schroeder, whose website is www.drschroe.com, holds a Doctorate of Education in Human Sexuality Education from Widener University and an MSW from NYU.

Author Eva S. Goldfarb, Ph.D., Professor of Public Health at Montclair State University is a nationally recognized expert in the field of sexuality education. For the past twenty five years, Dr. Goldfarb has developed and led sexuality education and sexual health programs with youth, parents, educators, and other professionals and has trained teachers across the country. She has also presented at conferences worldwide in the area of sexuality education and sexual health. Dr. Goldfarb has published widely including her co-authorship, as a member of the national advisory board that developed the National Sexuality Education Standards: Core Content and Skills K-12 (2011) and National Teacher Preparation Standards for Sexuality Education, (Journal of School Health, 2014).

In addition to having published numerous peer-reviewed articles in the area of sexuality education pedagogy and evaluation, Goldfarb is co-author with Dr. Elizabeth Casparian, of the groundbreaking curricula Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education: Grades 10-12 and Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education: Grades 4-6, is co-author and co-editor of Filling the Gaps: Hard-To-Teach Topics in Human Sexuality, and co-author with Dr. Elizabeth Schroeder, of Making Smarter Choices About Sex, a curriculum for middle school adolescents as well as Being Out, Staying Safe, the first HIV/STD prevention curriculum specifically geared for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual teens.  Her work has been featured in Sexuality and Our Faith, on MTV.com, in Newsweek, The Nation, Self, Family Circle, and The New York Times.

Dr. Goldfarb holds a Ph.D. in Human Sexuality Education from the University of Pennsylvania, a Masters Degree in Communications from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary) from the Starr King School for the Ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Association. She completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship at The HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Contributor Nora Gelperin, M.Ed. is the Director of Sexuality Education and Training at Advocates for Youth. Nora is one of the national technical assistance providers on the Working to Institutionalize Sex Ed (WISE) initiative and has been a member of the Future of Sex Education (FoSE) initiative since it's founding. She has more than twenty years of experience providing sexuality education to youth and professional development to school health and education professionals. Prior to joining Advocates she was the Director of Training at Answer where she founded the Training Institute in Sexual Health Education (TISHE) and Answer's online professional development workshops. She was a community educator with Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey. Nora holds a Masters in School Health Education from Temple University was awarded a Mary Lee Tatum Award from Planned Parenthood Leaders in Education (APPLE) and has been named a 2014 Fellow of the American School Health Association.

While many sexuality education materials have addressed the needs of adolescents, Advocates realized that such education must begin much earlier. Learning about good communication, safety in relationships, and growth and development lays a foundation that can support healthy relationships and healthy behaviors throughout a young person’s lifetime.

This K-12 curriculum is a collection of lesson plans on a wide range of topics including: self-understanding, family, growth and development, friendship, sexuality, life skills, and health promotion.

Rather than attempting to be "value-free," Rights, Respect, Responsibility consciously embraces a set of values that are widely accepted in our society. It is important for teachers and health professionals to be aware of the curriculum's point of view and to be able to communicate its underlying values not only to students but to parents, media, current and potential funders and other interested individuals.
The following values should be stressed implicitly and, when appropriate, explicitly throughout the program:

• Parents/care givers are the primary sexuality educators of their children. School districts and community-based organizations should function as partners with parents/care-givers in providing sexuality education. Together these institutions have the responsibility to provide young people with honest, age-appropriate sex education.
• Sexuality is a natural and healthy part of being human.
• At every stage of their development, children have the right to age- appropriate information about health, sexuality and relationships.
• Every person has dignity and worth and deserves respect. Diversity in gender, identity, race, religion, culture, and sexual orientation should be celebrated.
• It is wrong to use psychological pressure, fear, or physical force to make people do things without their consent.
• People are responsible for their own behavior and the consequences of that behavior.
• Boys aren’t the bad guys. No one is. Normalizing everyone’s right and ability to make positive choices about sexuality, sex, and relationships, regardless of what their peers are doing – regardless of their gender – can send a powerful message to all students.
• Open communication is an important part of maintaining healthy relationships with others.
• It is good for children to be able to talk openly and comfortably about sexuality issues with their parents/care givers, peers, trusted adults and future romantic partners.
• Relationships should never be coercive or exploitative, but instead based on mutual respect.
• It's normal to have sexual feelings; however, feelings should not always be acted upon.
• Until a teen is old enough to act responsibly and protect themselves and their partner, it is healthiest to seek ways other than sexual intercourse to express their romantic and sexual feelings.
• Young people have the responsibility to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted disease should be prevented by abstaining from risky behavior or using effective contraception and/or condoms.

Rights.  Respect.  Responsibility. is a curriculum fully aligned with the National Sexuality Education Standards. The curriculum seeks to address both the functional knowledge related to sexuality and the specific skills necessary to adopt healthy behaviors.  Rights.  Respect.  Responsibility reflects the tenets of social learning theory, social cognitive theory and the social ecological model of prevention. From social learning theory, which recognizes that “learning occurs not merely within the learner but also in a particular social context,” there are several key concepts addressed within Rights.  Respect.  Responsibility.  , including:

Personalization. The ability of students to perceive the core content and skills as relevant to their lives increases the likelihood that they will both learn and retain them. Ensuring that students see themselves represented in the materials and learning activities used can assist in furthering personalization.

Susceptibility. It is widely understood that many young people do not perceive that they are susceptible to the risks of certain behaviors, including sexual activity. Learning activities should encourage students to assess the relative risks of various behaviors, without exaggeration, to highlight their susceptibility to the potential negative outcomes of those behaviors.

Self-Efficacy. Even if students believe they are susceptible, they may not believe they can do anything to reduce their level of risk. Helping students overcome misinformation and develop confidence by practicing skills necessary to manage risk are key to a successful sexuality education curriculum.

Social Norms. Given that middle and high school students are highly influenced by their peers, the perception of what other students are, or are not, doing influences their behavior. Debunking perceptions and highlighting positive behaviors among teens (i.e., the majority of teens are abstinent in middle school and early high school and when they first engage in sexual intercourse many use condoms) can further the adoption of health-positive behaviors.

Skills. Mastery of functional knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to influence behaviors. Skill development is critical to a student’s ability to apply core content to their lives.

In addition to social learning theory, social cognitive theory (SCT) is reflected throughout Rights. Respect. Responsibility. . Like social learning theory, SCT emphasizes self-efficacy, but adds in the motivation of the learners and an emphasis on the affective or emotional learning domain, an invaluable component of learning about human sexuality.

Finally, the social ecological model of prevention also informed the development of this curriculum. This model focuses on individual, interpersonal, community and society influences and the role of these influences on people over time. Developmentally, the core content and skills for kindergarten and early elementary focus on the individual student and their immediate surroundings (e.g., their family). At the middle and high school levels, core content and skills focus on the expanding world of students that includes their friends and other peers, the media, society and cultural influences.

Students have the right to:

• Ask any questions they have about issues such as puberty, sex, reproduction, and relationships
• Receive complete, age-appropriate, and medically accurate information about their bodies
• Explore issues that interest them related to their sexual development
• Develop the skills necessary to form healthy friendships, and later healthy romantic partnerships as they grow
• Have support from caring adults who respect, affirm, and celebrate them for who they are.

• Focuses on specific behavioral outcomes.
• Addresses individual values and group norms that support health-enhancing behaviors.
• Focuses on increasing personal perceptions of risk and harmfulness of engaging in specific health risk behaviors, as well as reinforcing protective factors.
• Addresses social pressures and influences.
• Builds personal and social competence.
• Provides functional knowledge that is basic, accurate and directly contributes to health- promoting decisions and behaviors.
• Uses strategies designed to personalize information and engage students.
• Provides age-and developmentally appropriate information, learning strategies, teaching methods and materials.
• Incorporates learning strategies, teaching methods and materials that are culturally inclusive. Provides adequate time for instruction and learning.
• Provides opportunities to reinforce skills and positive health behaviors.
• Provides opportunities to make connections with other influential persons.
• Includes teacher information and plan for professional development and training to enhance effectiveness of instruction and student learning.1

Learn more about sexuality education: Sexuality Education: Building an evidence- and rights-based approach to healthy decision-making

Rights. Respect. Responsibility. was designed for use in whole or part according to the needs of the educator. While the curriculum can be used in its entirety (and when presented this way meets the National Sexuality Education Standards (NSES), we recognize that very few schools have sufficient time allotted to sexuality education to be able to utilize every lesson. Educators may decide when best a lesson or series of lessons might fit in their pre-existing curriculum. Educators may use one grade level, one topic strand or an individual lesson to supplement their existing materials as needed.

Using the indicators from the NSES, we have provided a recommended sequence for implementing Rights. Respect. Responsibility.

Lessons are 40 minutes in K-5 and 50 minutes in Grades 6-12.

Please also refer to the "Before You Teach" tab above for more information on:

Using Ground Rules
Classroom Management:  Handling Challenging Questions
Important Information About Personal Disclosure
A note on Gender, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

Copyright Advocates for Youth, 2015

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the many individuals who assisted in the process of creating Rights. Respect. Responsibility. A K-12 Sexuality Education Curriculum, including Sarah J. Kleintop ,Debra Hauser, Emily Bridges, Rosanna Dixon, and Arlene Basilio.

Our thanks to WestWind Foundation, Open Road Alliance, and Turner Foundation, among others who wish to remain anonymous, for financial support that made this curriculum possible.

Sexuality education should be a partnership between parents/care givers and schools. Many schools find that sending a letter to parents/care givers letting them know about upcoming sexuality education lessons can not only help keep parents informed but also gives them opportunties to follow up with questions and/or preview materials. Some districts send a letter as a courtesy, some distircts require a parent notificiation letter to be sent (called opt-out) and other require active parental permission to be obtained for a student to participate (opt-in). An opt-out policy ensures that many more students receive sexuality education and are not prevented from attending due to letters never arriving home or mistakenly not being sent back in. Advocates for Youth is a proponent of opt-out policies and the following is a sample parent letter which districts can use as a template and modify to fit their unique needs.

Download Sample Parental Notification Letter

Rights.  Respect.  Responsibility. is designed to involve young people in discussing personal, sometimes sensitive, topics. You must create and maintain a safe, respectful environment in which participants can share freely. You create and maintain a safe, respectful environment by introducing and reinforcing ground rules. Engage all participants in understanding, respecting, and agreeing to the ground rules. Post the ground rules on a wall for every session. Remind students, when necessary, that everyone has agreed to abide by the ground rules.
Read background information on ground rules  

Trusted adults: Within this curriculum we use the phrasing “parent or caregiver” to acknowledge the variety of family formations. In discussions of disclosure of abuse or other sensitive topics we use “trusted adult,” to mean a parent, coach, faith leader, teacher, or other adult who can respond appropriately.

Gender Identity: Advocates for Youth strongly believes in the rights of transgender youth and the importance of intentional and authentic inclusion of transgender issues. In younger grades, where students may not yet be familiar with gender issues or equipped to process them, this curriculum uses gender binary terms.  However, as students age, the curriculum introduces gender neutral names and a wide range of identities, and in addition, is careful to note that biological sex characteristics are separate from gender identity.  Learn more about gender identity and how gender lessons are incorporated into this curriculum

In order to be fully inclusive of all genders and gender identities, with very few exceptions, noted below, it is important to avoid separating students by gender when creating smaller learning groups. In particular, transgender and gender non-conforming students may find the request to choose a group based on their gender almost impossible. In addition, dividing students by gender reinforces a gender binary concept that is incongruent with the foundations of this curriculum.

Exceptions to this general policy may occur during some of the fourth and fifth grade lessons on puberty. For lessons that delve into the physical and emotional changes of puberty, students at these grade levels may find it useful and more comfortable to have a session with other students of their own gender in which they can ask personal and potentially embarrassing questions that they might not otherwise ask in a mixed gender setting. If the teacher is aware of a transgender or gender non-conforming student for whom such a binary split would create discomfort or cause them to feel ostracized or otherwise isolated, the teacher is advised to keep mixed gender groups.

Human development is a lifelong process of physical, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional growth and change. In the early stages of life—from babyhood to childhood, childhood to adolescence, and adolescence to adulthood—enormous changes take place. Throughout the process, each person develops attitudes and values that guide choices, relationships, and understanding.

Sexual development is also a lifelong process. Infants, children, teens, and adults are sexual beings. Just as it is important to enhance a child's physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, so it is important to lay foundations for a child's sexual growth. Adults have a responsibility to help young people understand and accept their evolving sexuality.

Each stage of development encompasses specific markers. Developmental guidelines apply to most children in the age groups specified. However, each child is an individual and may reach these stages of development earlier or later than other children the same age. When concerns arise about a specific child's development, parents or other caregivers should consult a doctor or other child development professional.

Visit Advocates for Youth’s webpage on growth and development for a series of factsheets on each age group.

Rights. Respect. Responsibility. is designed to be inclusive of all genders, gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations. To that end, the language used and examples provided within lessons recognize the spectrum of gender, gender identities and expressions, and sexual orientations. Teachers are strongly encouraged to model this inclusivity in their teaching. The information included here is intended to aid teachers in their efforts to fully support all students across these spectrums. To start, definitions of some key concepts might be useful. There are many good sources for defining gender- and sexual orientation- related terms. The ones provided below are either direct quotes or adaptations from various definitions in order to provide the clearest guidance for teachers using this curriculum.

Sex (Biological Sex), refers to a person’s biological and physical attributes – genitalia, sex chromosomes, hormones, and internal reproductive structures that are used to assign an identity at birth. One’s sex is typically identified as male, female or intersex. (Intersex is a term for someone whose reproductive or sexual anatomy doesn’t seem to fit typical definitions of male or female.

Gender, according to the American Psychological Association, refers to “the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex. Behavior that is compatible with cultural expectations is referred to as gender-normative; behaviors that are viewed as incompatible with these expectations constitute gender non-conformity.” (APA, The Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients 2011 www.apa.org. )

Gender Binary vs Gender Spectrum – Gender binary is the belief that there are only two genders, boy/man and girl/woman and that these gender categories are discrete and different from each other. In contrast, gender spectrum reflects the idea that gender falls along a continuum and that there are many ways that a person may perceive or express their gender. You will notice that Rights. Respect. Responsibility. reflects the belief of a gender spectrum.

Gender Identity is someone’s internal sense of who they are regarding their gender. It is a person’s deeply held personal understanding of themselves as a boy/man, girl/woman, or another identity that does not reflect a gender binary (e.g. genderqueer, genderfluid). A person’s gender identity can be the same or different from the gender they were assigned at birth. Some people, whose gender identity does not match the gender they were assigned at birth, identify as transgender, although other terms are also used. Lessons in Rights. Respect. Responsibility. explore this concept throughout grade levels in ways that are developmentally appropriate. For example, as early as kindergarten, the lesson on Bodies includes the explanation that “there are some body parts that mostly just girls have and some parts that mostly just boys have. Being a boy or a girl doesn’t have to mean you have those parts, but for most people this is how their bodies are.”

Gender Expression refers to the myriad ways that someone might demonstrate their gender. This can include their choices in clothing and hairstyles, their mannerisms, speech, choice of activities, social interactions, professions, etc. Gender expression falls along a continuum that is usually described as running from masculine to feminine. You will notice in Rights. Respect. Responsibility. that the authors intentionally give examples of students with a variety of gender expressions.

Sexual Orientation – Refers to the gender or genders of people one is attracted to sexually, romantically, and emotionally. Sexual orientation falls along a spectrum from being attracted solely to people of one’s own gender (gay or lesbian), solely to people of a different gender (heterosexual or “straight”), as well as to people of different genders (bisexual, pansexual), and those who are not attracted to other individuals (asexual). Everyone has a sexual orientation. It is not necessary to engage in sexual behaviors to know what your sexual orientation is.

While sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation are related, they are independent of one another.

A good resource for further information on these and related concepts is in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Welcoming Schools program.

Establishing ground rules, which are shared guidelines about how everyone – teachers and students – will interact during lessons, is an important step in creating a sense of trust, support, and safety among students and teachers. Ground rules help to increase comfort and facilitate learning for everyone in the classroom. This is especially important because the lessons in this curriculum often include discussion of personal topics such as values and sexuality.

Ground rules, and the methods by which they are created and introduced will vary at different grade levels. In the earliest grades, existing classroom rules may be used for this purpose. While such guidelines are often posted in the classroom throughout the year, it can be helpful to give a gentle reminder to students about these rules before a lesson or unit on sexuality. Alternatively, the teacher may ask students if they can think of any rules they would like to have for working together in a group. Their suggestions may include not interrupting, raising hands to talk, etc. Some additional ones may include:

• Everyone has the right not to answer questions they feel are too personal, including the teacher. It is OK to say "I'd rather not do this activity" or " I don't want to answer that question."
• It is okay to disagree with another person, but do not make fun or call people names just because you disagree with them.
• It is okay to ask any question, no matter how silly it may seem; chances are someone else wants to know the same thing you do.
• It is okay if some of the things we talk about seem silly, or if the information is brand new. We will be talking about some very interesting things and you will probably like learning about these things. If you don't like a subject, just sit quietly until we change to a new subject.
• It's important to be open and honest in group discussions, but there should be no discussion of your own or other people's personal business.
• It's OK to discuss general situations, but without naming names or being specific.
• It's OK to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable; even adults can feel uncomfortable when they talk about sensitive topics like values or sexuality.

Although they cover similar topics, ground rules for grades 5-8, may appear this way:

• Right to Pass -- Each person shares to the level of his/her own comfort. No one should ever feel pressured to contribute if they do not wish to.
• Respect differences -- Allow one another to have different viewpoints. Group members may disagree but they should not judge one another for their beliefs.
• One person speaks at a time -- Allow one another to be heard.
• No put downs -- No name calling or insulting one another. Protect one another’s right to hold different views.
• Use “I” statements -- Avoid broad statements. Speak for yourself.
• There is no such thing as a dumb question –All questions are good to ask.
• Appropriate sharing outside of class- Telling other people about what you learn here is good but we should not discuss anything personal that someone in the class may have shared. That’s disrespectful, and unfair to that person. Instead, you can simply say, “I know someone who…” if you want to share a good point someone made.

Guidelines at the 9-12 grade level will likely address the same issues plus a few additional ones for this age group, and may be worded differently. For example:

• Right to pass if you don’t want to share or participate.
• Speak for yourself, not for others, by using “I” statements.
• Don’t use put-downs or negative statements about classmates and educators.
• Be aware of your assumptions and how they might impact your learning.
• One person speaks at a time.
• Minimize side conversations.
• Keep electronic devices turned off and away during class or follow school district policy.
• Questions are welcome. There is no such thing as stupid questions.
• Don’t share personal stories or use people’s names when talking with people outside this classroom about what is discussed here.

All teachers need to be aware that statistically, at least one or more of their students is a survivor of child sexual abuse. This is of particular relevance for teachers of Rights. Respect. Responsibility. or other programs about human sexuality and relationships. The personal content matter, along with a welcoming environment, and a deliberately designed process that encourages students to ask questions and share their thoughts and feelings, increase the likelihood that a student might disclose their abuse either to the teacher in private, or in front of the whole class. Because of this likelihood, teachers of this curriculum need to be prepared to respond appropriately, in the best interests of the student who discloses as well as the rest of the class.

As a teacher implementing lessons from Rights. Respect. Responsibility., you may develop strong rapport with your students, which may also encourage them to feel safe in disclosing sexual abuse. While it may feel good to the student, it is not generally a good idea for students to disclose in front of a class. They may feel that they are just disclosing to you but, in fact, they are sharing very personal information with the entire class. While it may feel like a safe environment in which to do so, no one can assure the student that classmates won’t repeat this information to others or what they will do with this information. To minimize the likelihood of such an event, it is important to establish ground rules (see Establishing and Using Ground Rules in this section) that include not sharing personal information or using names when discussing real life situations. It can be very useful to periodically remind students of this rule.

Because students may see you as a safe person to talk to about highly personal issues, it is critical that you familiarize yourself with laws and policies that guide teachers’ responses to students’ serious emotional or family problems. In cases of physical and/or sexual abuse, most states have laws that require adults to report suspected abuse to the proper authorities. If a young person discloses such abuse, follow the school or district policy that guides appropriate action. As noted in the National Teacher Preparation Standards for Sexuality Education. Be sure to adhere to state, federal and district policies that pertain to confidentiality and reporting these types of disclosures. (2014)

All schools or youth agencies should have such policies. Be sure to warn students, before you begin instruction that you must abide by laws and policies in this regard. In cases of other serious problems – such as a teen reporting serious depression, suicidal thoughts, or substance abuse – familiarize yourself with and follow school guidelines to ensure the student receives the best care. Before referring students who have confided in you, investigate to ensure that you are referring them to appropriate, highly qualified support staff and organizations.

A comprehensive resource for understanding child sexual abuse and the role that schools play in prevention, is available online from the Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (ReCAPP).

In addition, ReCAPP provides a comprehensive set of guidelines for handling disclosures of child sexual abuse in the classroom.

Rights. Respect. Responsibility. encourages students to ask questions, whether in class during specific activities, or through the use of an anonymous question box. As the teacher, it is important to provide clear, accurate answers to these questions, in a non-judgmental manner. It is also important to know which questions you should not answer and how best to respond when those questions come up.

How questions are asked
There are different ways that students may ask questions in the classroom. How questions are asked often depends on the procedures put in place by the teacher and may include:

• During class with other students present
• One-on-one to the teacher outside of a regular lesson
• Anonymously on an index card or through an anonymous questions box.

While many of the lessons in Rights. Respect. Responsibility. build in time for students to ask questions, some teachers like to provide additional opportunities for students to ask questions that may arise outside of a particular lesson and/or that they may want to ask anonymously because of fear or embarrassment. For many teachers, preparing a lesson plan and leading activities is the easy part of the job. It is those spontaneous comments or questions from students that can cause the most anxiety.

Young people have the right to learn about sex and sexuality. At the same time, educators should follow applicable laws and policies. Sexuality education content, coursework, and delivery should always follow applicable laws. Before planning to use this curriculum, it’s important to research existing state and district policies and procedures that govern sexuality education content and requirements.  Some states have health education standards which educators must align curriculum with while other states leave the decision up to each school district. It is particularly important to get clarification from your supervisor or building principal regarding any lessons or activities about which you have questions.

The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) compiles state regulations on its website, www.siecus.org. You may also be able to find the regulations by looking at your state’s education department or state government website.  Your school board or school superintendent should also be aware of these policies.