Sec. 2. Purpose and findings
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/bill/117/hr/3312/ih/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The purpose of this Act is to provide young people with sex education and sexual health services that— promote and uphold the rights of young people to information and services that empower them to make decisions about their bodies, health, sexuality, families, and communities in all areas of life; are evidence-informed, comprehensive in scope, confidential, equitable, accessible, medically accurate and complete, age and developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed and resilience-oriented; provide information about the prevention, treatment, and care of pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and interpersonal violence; provide information about the importance of consent as a basis for healthy relationships and for autonomy in healthcare; provide information on gender roles and gender discrimination; provide information on the historical and current condition in which education and health systems, policies, programs, services, and practices have uniquely and adversely impacted Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other People of Color; and redress inequities in the delivery of sex education and sexual health services to marginalized young people.
Congress finds the following: Young people need and have the right to sex education and sexual health services that are evidence-informed, comprehensive in scope, confidential, equitable, accessible, medically accurate and complete, age and developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed and resilience-oriented. Currently, there is a gap between the sex education that young people should be receiving based on expert standards and the sex education many actually receive.
Only 29 States and the District of Columbia mandate sex education in schools. When there is sex education or instruction regarding human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV)or sexually transmitted infections (STI), 15 States do not require the content to be evidence-informed, medically accurate and complete, age and developmentally appropriate, or culturally responsive. Many sex education programs and sexual health services currently available were not designed to and do not currently meet the needs of marginalized young people. Some such programs and services actually harm marginalized young people. For marginalized young people, a lack of comprehensive in scope, confidential, equitable, and accessible sex education and sexual health services is not unfamiliar, but rather a longstanding manifestation of white supremacy, which has touched every aspect of our history, culture, and institutions, including the education and healthcare systems. The development and delivery of sexual health education and services in the United States historically has been rooted in the oppression of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other People of Color. The United States has a long history of eugenics and forced sterilization. The sexual and reproductive rights and bodily autonomy of specific communities deemed undesirable or defective were targeted by our governments resulting in state-sanctioned violence and generations of trauma and oppression. These communities include— people with low incomes; immigrants; people with disabilities; people living with HIV; survivors of interpersonal violence; people who are incarcerated, detained, or who otherwise have encountered the criminal-legal system; Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer; and young people who are pregnant and parenting. Black young people are more likely to receive abstinence-only instruction. Research shows that abstinence-only instruction, also known as sexual risk avoidance instruction, is ineffective in comparison to sex education. Black, Indigenous, and Latinx young people are disproportionately more likely to be diagnosed with an STI, have an unintended pregnancy, or experience sexual assault. The framework of Reproductive Justice acknowledges and aims to address the legacy of white supremacy, systemic oppression, and the restrictions on sex education and sexual health services that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. Reproductive Justice will be achieved when all people regardless of actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, immigration status, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability status, pregnancy or parenting status, or age have the power to make decisions about their bodies, health, sexuality, families, and communities in all areas of life. Increased resources are required for sex education and sexual health services to reach all young people, redress inequities and their impacts on marginalized young people, and achieve Reproductive Justice for young people. Such sex education and sexual health services should— promote and uphold the rights of young people to information and services in order to make and exercise informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health; be evidence-informed, comprehensive in scope, confidential, equitable, accessible, age and developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed and resilience-oriented; include instruction and materials that address— puberty and adolescent development; sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology; sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression; contraception, pregnancy, and reproduction; HIV and other STIs; consent and healthy relationships; and interpersonal violence; promote gender equity and be inclusive of young people with varying gender identities, gender expressions, and sexual orientations; promote safe and healthy relationships; and promote racial equity and be responsive to the needs of young people who are Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color.