The NYCLU’s State and Federal Recommendations

Click here to download the report (PDF).

At the Federal Level:

Congress Should Enact the REAL Act: The Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act would be the first federal program to fund comprehensive sexuality education, establishing a funding mechanism for programs offering age-appropriate information on both abstinence and contraception. It would require funded programs to teach medically accurate information. While teens would still learn that abstinence is the only sure way to prevent unintended pregnancy or STIs, the REAL Act would require that sex education programs also include vital information on contraceptive use and barrier methods.

Congress Should Stop the Flow of Funding to Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs, Including Title V, CBAE and AFLA: Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs currently receive the only dedicated federal education funding related to sexuality, despite the fact that they ignore critical facts about sexuality and prevention. Congress should stop funding Title V, CBAE and AFLA, or amend the enabling legislation to specify that these funds must be used for comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education. No federal money should go to programs that jeopardize the health and safety of our children.

At the State Level:

New York Should Enact the Healthy Teens Act: The HTA would establish a grant program to bring comprehensive, age-appropriate and medically accurate sexuality education, taught by qualified professionals, to New York schools. The bill has been introduced in the New York State Legislature and enacted by the Assembly since 2005, but has languished in the Senate. New York should demonstrate its commitment to the health and well-being of our youth by enacting the HTA, and devoting at least the same amount of funds that has been devoted to Title V matching funds to comprehensive sexuality education.

New York Should Specify that Health Education Includes the Teaching of Scientifically Accurate, Age-Appropriate Sexuality Education That Includes -- But is Not Limited to -- an Abstinence Message: New York law currently includes a requirement that students in public schools be provided instruction in health education. It does not currently include a definition that makes clear that comprehensive sexuality education is a necessary component of health education, although it does require HIV/AIDS education. The education law should be amended to clarify that comprehensive sexuality education is a critical component of health education. Such education should be age-appropriate and medically accurate, and should provide information on the benefits and limitations of all FDA approved means of contraception and barrier methods of disease prevention.

New York State Should Reject Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Restricted Funds: The time has come for New York to join the growing number of states, including California, Maine, Ohio and Pennsylvania, that have officially rejected federal abstinence-only-until-marriage funding.