User:Happyhelper775/Comprehensive sex education

History
'''Sex education, from a historical perspective, is recent having records dating back to the beginning of the 1900’s. (2) This is often explained by the shift of education taking place inside the home to the more uniformed education that is understand now. Just because sex education changed locations doesn’t mean that the messages changed. It wasn’t until the 1960’s and 1970’s, when there was a shift, dubbed as a sexual revolution, with messages of free love and open sexuality and pleasure (2). This revolution caused a divide for beliefs of the purpose of sex and the one message fits all mentality of abstinence-only sex education. People were smoking weed and having sex outside of marriage, shifting away from church dominated values (2).'''

'''During this period of sexual revolution, SIECUS was first formed; an organization that focuses on what is now understand as comprehensive sex education. SIECUS standing for the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States. The organization, founded in 1964, had notable involvement from Planned Parenthood’s former medical director Mary Calderone (2). Calderone was not alone in founding this organization but is noted as a medical figure that believed sex is natural and should be treated as such rather than trying to force and assert control (1).'''

'''SIECUS quickly became a notable organization that received federal funding from the office of education for their work in shifting values towards comprehensive sex education programs (1). Outside of the SIECUS organization, the cause of comprehensive sex education was catching support in the Whitehouse with Nixon’s institution of Title X, which created funding and protection for things such as contraception, considered family planning services. In 1978 this law was amended to include unmarried teenagers in the target population for who might need family planning services and education. This was President Carter’s amendment, and legally acknowledged and provided resources for those that didn’t abide by abstinence before marriage messages (2).'''

'''This was a rich time for such decisions due to other progress in areas of sexual rights such as Roe vs Wade and Carey v Population Services International (2). Many of these bills and advancements were directly caused by the rising problem of teenage pregnancy. Due to this, organizations like SIECUS were awarded funding in the hopes of training educators to better address the problems in sex education (2). There was backlash from many people for the support of SIECUS and their values, eventually leading to a Christians Right organization that fought against this movement and even had success under the Reagan Administration in creating the Adolescent and family Life Act (AFLA) which was in created funding and support for abstinence only messaging (1).'''

Comprehensive sex education is still a prevalent topic and continues to present a back and forth for many politicians today. Under President Obama's administration, abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education was opposed and suggested to be eliminated. Under President Trump's administration, federal agenda has reverted to supporting an abstinence approach. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study found that on average high school courses require 6.2 hours of taught class time on human sexuality, but only 4 hours or less on HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy prevention.

As of 2019, sex education in the United States became mandated on a state level. It is up to each state, district, and school board to determine the implementation of federal policy and funds for sex education. 24 out of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia mandate sex education and 34 states mandate HIV education. Where sex education is mandated, there is no federal policy requiring the instruction of comprehensive sex education. In prior years under the Bush administration, there was strong support in congress by Conservative Republicans for the sanction of abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education.