Many public school districts across New York State provide sex-ed instruction that is inaccurate, incomplete and biased, according to Birds, Bees and Bias: How Absent Sex Ed Standards Fail New York’s Students. This report examines sex-ed materials used during the 2009-2010 and 2010-11 school years from across New York State. Among the NYCLU’s key findings:

Each year, thousands of teen parents' drop out - or are pushed out - of New York City schools. Studies have documented drop out rates for teen parents as high as 70 percent. All of these young people are legally entitled to a free public education - a support that provides a foundation for future success for both parents and their children.

The Reproductive Health Act: Women make reproductive decisions — including abortion, adoption or having a child — for many different reasons. While people may disagree with some of those reasons, it is important that each woman be able to make the decision that is right for her, her circumstances and her family. The Reproductive Health Act will ensure that New York State continues to stand up for a woman’s ability to make her own private, personal decision.

If you are 17 or younger, you have the right to get sexual health services on your own in New York.

If you think you may be pregnant, you have the right to confidential pregnancy testing. No one can tell your parents or anyone else about the results unless you say it's okay. No one can force you to take a pregnancy test, an STD test, or an HIV/AIDS test without your permission.

This publication outlines your rights while breastfeeding in New York, including your rights in the hospital, in public, and at work.

Several government-sponsored health care programs are available to New York teens who are pregnant, parenting, or in need of family planning options

If you are 17 or younger, you have the right to get sexual health services on your own in New York. You can get birth control (like condoms & the Pill), emergency contraception (the "morning after pill"), pregnancy tests and prenatal care, sexually trasmitted infection (STI) tests and care, HIV tests, abortion services, and sexual assault care. You don't need permission from your parents, boyfriend, girlfriend, or anyone else to get these health services. These services are confidential. No one at the clinic or doctor's office can tell anyone when or why you came in unless you say so.

Reproductive Health Services Covered by CHP

• Contraception -- including (but not limited to): IUDs, diaphragms, birth control pills, condoms, Depo Provera, and Norplant.
• Emergency Contraception -- “Morning-After Pill”

Minors in New York State can access mental health care without parental involvement under many circumstances. To give informed consent, a patient must be able to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a proposed treatment, including its risks, benefits and alternatives, and to reach an informed decision.