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Report Finds Shortcomings in Sex Education Curricula

A research report (PDF link below) released by the Healthy Youth Alliance finds significant shortcomings in sex education curricula in Washington's public schools. A survey of school districts statewide found that a significant number of districts do not meet all of the state guidelines in their courses for sexuality education.

Young people need accurate information in order to make healthy decisions. To be effective, public school curricula should be comprehensive and include information about both abstinence and contraception, said Judith Billings of the Governor's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, a member of the Healthy Youth Alliance.

Among the report's key findings are the following:

• A sizable proportion of districts — 29 percent — do not provide comprehensive sex education. Rather, they provide "abstinence only" curricula which say abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases; or they provide "abstinence until marriage" curricula which teach that all sexual activity outside marriage is harmful.
• In districts with restrictions on content, a sizable proportion — 30 percent — do not allow teachers to discuss condoms or contraception in class.
• 70 percent of districts responding said they purchase curriculum materials for sexuality and/or HIV/AIDS education. However, the money spent on these resources is not providing full information needed to effectively prevent STD/HIV infection in young people.

The report is based on data from a survey of 200 HIV/AIDS education and sexuality education program administrators and instructors in 125 public school districts across the state (grades 5-12). The author of the report is Alison Peters of Alison Peters Consulting, a specialist in research and polling for public policy issues.

The report was commissioned by the Healthy Youth Alliance, a coalition of organizations, agencies and individuals working to increase the number of youth in Washington who are exposed to researched, proven and effective sexual health programs. The Alliance aims to contribute to reduced rates of unintended pregnancy and STD/HIV infection in youth.

According to research by Kaiser, approximately 50 percent of all teens are sexually active in high school. One-third of sexually active teen girls become pregnant before they reach 20. Each year, four million teens nationwide contract a sexually transmitted disease. Further, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, there were more than 114,000 teen births in Washington between 1991 and 2004; these births cost taxpayers a total of $2.2 billion over that period.

Download a PDF copy of the "Sex Education in Washington Public Schools" report.