New Mandate requires Sex Education for NYC Students
This month marks the passing of a new sex-ed mandate in NYC public schools strengthening the existing health education requirements for middle and high-school students. Much advocacy work from groups like the HIV Law Project and The Sex Education Alliance of New York City has gone into the push for improved sex and HIV education for students leading to the new legislation.
As might be expected, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has already reacted to the passed legislation arguing sex education is a matter to be handled by parents rather than schools. Under the new legislation parents who object to the mandated sex education are given the option to opt out.
A New York Times article outlining the new legislation further explains the mandate as well as the current state of sex education in America:
Nationwide, one in four teenagers between 2006 and 2008 learned about abstinence without receiving any instruction in schools about contraceptive methods, according to an analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health. As of January, 20 states and the District of Columbia mandated sex and H.I.V. education in schools. An additional 12 states, New York included, required H.I.V. education only, according to a policy paper published by the institute.
New York City’s new mandate goes beyond the state’s requirement that middle and high school students take one semester of health education classes. The city’s mandate calls for schools to teach a semester of sex education in 6th or 7th grade, and again in 9th or 10th grade, suggesting they use HealthSmart and Reducing the Risk, out-of-the-box sets of lessons that have been recommended since 2007. A city survey of principals last year found that 64 percent of middle schools were using the HealthSmart curriculum.
A shout-out is definitely due to those who have committed significant time and energy in working towards the passing of this legislation for NYC students. As explained by Alison Yager of the HIV Law Project in a recent post, since 2006 a dedicated group of HIV positive women have been working to make a difference for a young students.
Resolved to make a difference, they formed the Steering Committee of HIV Law Project’s Center for Women and HIV Advocacy, and together decided to commit themselves in a more deliberate way to the fight for comprehensive sex education. For one year this dedicated band of women met weekly at our offices with an organizer from CHAMP, the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project, who guided them through the process of building an advocacy campaign, and taught them essential advocacy skills.
After this first year, the group continued meeting weekly, and later bi-weekly for a total of four and a half years. Over the years they stood on street corners and talked to their neighbors; they gathered signatures and sent postcards and letters to City, State and federal leaders; they made phone calls, and visited elected officials and local PTAs sharing their message. Their resolve to make a difference was truly inspiring.
Indeed this work is inspiring, and the newly passed legislation in NYC is a very necessary and welcome achievement. In a country where some school districts still teach abstinence only education, the passing of improved mandated sex-education which will at the very least educate students in the use of condoms and discussion of appropriate age for sexual activity is no small measure.
Much work remains to assure the legislation is enforced in a meaningful way that will truly impact students of New York City to both empower and educate them in making healthy decisions in their personal sex lives.
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