In Good Company - Organizations That Support Comprehensive Sex Education

The national policy of abstinence-only-until-marriage of the last decade has blatantly disregarded the many professional organizations in health, public health and education that support comprehensive sex education, as well as many religious communities and the results of numerous surveys of parents, students and teachers. Here are some of the many organizations that support comprehensive sex education . For a more complete list go to NCSSE, a national coalition of organizations in support of sexuality education. SIECUS has in addition produced a Fact Sheet with a summary of the public support for comprehensive sex education.

 THE MEDICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITIES

• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that “children and adolescents need accurate and comprehensive education about sexuality to practice healthy sexual behavior as adults.” The AAP’s policy statement continues: “Abstinence-only programs have not demonstrated successful outcomes with regard to delayed initiation of sexual activity or use of safer sex practices.” See also the AAP Testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 2008

• The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) believes that “investing in comprehensive sex education that includes support for abstinence but also provides risk-reduction information” would be a more effective HIV-prevention strategy for young people than simply an abstinence-only message. Their most recent policy statement of July, 2009, states that “amfAR supports comprehensive sex education that is science-based and age-appropriate. Research has demonstrated that in general comprehensive sex education is more effective at reducing high-risk behavior than abstinence-only programs.”

• The American Medical Association (AMA) urges schools to implement comprehensive, developmentally appropriate sexuality education programs and to include an integrated strategy for making condoms available to students. See also the AMA Updated Review of Sex Education Programs in the United States, 2009

• The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends that “comprehensive and empirically supported sex education and HIV-prevention programs become widely available to teach youth how to abstain from risky sexual behaviors and learn how they can protect themselves against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.” See also the APA Resolution on Sex Education, 2005

• The American Public Health Association (APHA) “endorses the right of children and youth to receive comprehensive sexuality education that includes facts, information, and data and that demonstrate an appreciation of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity.” See also the APHA Policy Statement on Sex Education, 2006

 THE EDUCATION COMMUNITY

• The National Education Association (NEA) recommends SIECUS’ Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: K-12 as a resource in developing appropriate school-based curricula.

• The American School Health Association (ASHA) “recommends sexuality education to exist within a comprehensive school health education program to demonstrate the interrelationship of health behaviors and to provide a planned, sequential pre-kindergarten through 12th grade curriculum.”

 THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY

• Eight religious denominations and the Office of Family ministries and Human Sexuality, National Council of Churches of Christ, have policies supporting sexuality education in schools. The denominations are: the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Church of the Brethren, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), the Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church.

• Almost nine in ten self-described conservative Evangelical or born-again Christians support the teaching of sexuality education in schools.