What is Sex Education?

In This Section

 For Educators
 What is Sex Education?
 What Are the Goals of Sex Education For Youth?

 What’s the State of Sex Education In the U.S.?

 Digital Tools

Sex education helps people gain the information, skills and motivation to make healthy
decisions about sex and sexuality. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest provider
of sex education, reaching 1.2 million people a year.

Facts About Comprehensive Sex Education

Sex education is high quality teaching and learning about a broad
variety of topics related to sex and sexuality, exploring values and
beliefs about those topics and gaining the skills that are needed to
navigate relationships and manage one’s own sexual health. Sex
education may take place in schools, in community settings, or online.
Planned Parenthood believes that parents play a critical and central
role in providing sex education. Resources for parents can be found
here.

Comprehensive sexuality education refers to K-12 programs that

cover a broad range of topics related to:

 Human Development (including reproduction, puberty, sexual

orientation, and gender identity)
 Relationships (including families, friendships, romantic
relationships and dating)
 Personal Skills (including communication, negotiation, and
decision-making)
 Sexual Behavior (including abstinence and sexuality throughout
life)
 Sexual Health (including sexually transmitted diseases,
contraception, and pregnancy)
  Society and Culture (including gender roles, diversity, and
sexuality in the media)

Several important resources exist to guide comprehensive sexuality

education implementation, including:

 The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United

States (SIECUS) Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality
Education was developed by a national task force of experts in
the field of adolescent development, health care, and education.
They provide a framework of the key concepts, topics, and
messages that all sexuality education programs would ideally
include.
 The Future of Sex Education Initiative (FoSE) seeks to create a
national dialogue about the future of sex education and to
promote the institutionalization of comprehensive sexuality
education in public schools. They have developed the first-
ever National Sexuality Education Standards, National Teacher
Preparation Standards and many additional toolkits and
materials to strengthen comprehensive sexuality education
implementation and professional development.

What Role Does Planned Parenthood Play In Sex

Education?
Planned Parenthood education staff reach 1.5 million individuals each
year, and 64% of those individuals are middle school and high school
aged youth.

Planned Parenthood education departments provide a robust range of

programming options, including:

 Evidence-Based education programs for young people, adults

and priority populations
 Peer Education Programs
 Promotores Programs and other community-driven, culturally
relevant health education programs.
 Parent/Family Education Programs
  LGBTQ-focused Programs for LGBTQ youth and their
parents/caregivers.
 Training of Professionals, including educators and school-staff,
community-based organization staff, and faith-based leaders.
 Outreach and Single Session Workshops

Sex Education Resources

The best sex education resource is your local Planned Parenthood
education department!

There are also many other resources available to inform and guide
sex education programs and policies:

Advocates for Youth

Advocates for Youth partners with youth leaders, adult allies, and
youth-serving organizations to advocate for policies and champion
programs that recognize young people’s rights to honest sexual health
information and accessible, confidential, and affordable sexual health
services.

Answer
Answer provides high-quality training to teachers and other youth-
serving professionals.

Bedsider
Bedsider is an online birth control support network for women 18-29
operated by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned
Pregnancy.

ETR Associates
ETR offers science-based health and education products and
programs for health professionals, educators and consumers
throughout the United States.

The Guttmacher Institute

The Guttmacher Institute is a leading research and policy organization
committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights in
the United States and globally through high-quality research,
evidence-based advocacy, and strategic communications.

Future of Sex Education

The Future of Sex Education Initiative (FoSE) was launched as a
partnership between Advocates for Youth, Answer, and the Sexuality
Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) to create a
national dialogue about the future of sex education and to promote
comprehensive sexuality education in public schools.

Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

GLSEN works to ensure that every student, in every school, is valued
and treated with respect, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender
identity or gender expression.

Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential

GCAPP works to improve the overall health and wellbeing of young
people in Georgia to ensure a more powerful future for us all.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy

The mission of the National Campaign is to improve the lives and
future prospects of children and families by preventing teen pregnancy
and unplanned pregnancy.

The Office of Adolescent Health Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program

The OAH TPP Program is a national, evidence-based program that
funds diverse organizations that are working to prevent teen
pregnancy across the United States.

Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States

Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
(SIECUS) provides education and information about sexuality and
sexual and reproductive health. SIECUS advocates for the right of all
people to accurate information, comprehensive education about
sexuality, and sexual health services.