Only a third of US states require sexual education in schools to be medically accurate

Independent UK  -   Only just over a third of U.S. states require sexual education in public schools to be medically accurate, researchers said on Friday, potentially preventing tens of millions of students from receiving crucial information about sexual health.

While 42 states ask students to take a course that covers at least one “sex ed” topic between kindergarten and high school, just 19 mandate that the information be evidence-based and supported by the medical community, according to a new analysis from the Boston University School of Public Health. And five of those states require accuracy for specific topics, which may include sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, and unhealthy relationships.

“While many students in the U.S. are required to get some form of sexual education, our study shows that substantially fewer students are likely to be getting the comprehensive sexual education that public health and medical associations recommend,” Dr. Kimberly Nelson, an associate professor at the school, said in a statement.

More than 65 million students were enrolled in public schools in 2021, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey.

Now, only 58 percent of students live in a jurisdiction that requires sex ed to be medically accurate, Nelson noted, and many jurisdictions have content mandates that extend only to a few topics.